End Of The World
by XIII Dragon
Summary: Set four years after MRII. The world is officially ending. Itex has made their move and both America and Asia lie in ruins because of it. The only people that even have a chance to save the world are Max and the Flock. However there is a problem.
1. Prologue

**A/N ……… I really have nothing good to say………**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Prologue: Setting The Scene

My name is Maximum Ride. I've been living in a nightmare these past few years and I've finally woken up only to find the reality is much worse. It's been four years since the Itex incident an a lot has happened. There used to be six of us, later a seventh joined. We were a Flock, we did everything together. However we've disbanded now.

It happened three months after we escaped from Itex. I don't know what happened, I guess I snapped from the stress. I won't go into the details, remembering still hurts too much. It could have been from the Erasers, or maybe it was the Voice, it might have even have been from Angels nagging of wanting to be leader… or it could have been… No, I won't remember, it still hurts too much. Basically after I left. After a while Fang decided to leave as well. Finally Iggy got sick of the position and decided to joined the School for some strange reason and Angel became leader. I guess she got what she wanted after all.

Six months after that, Itex made their move. The struck America with all their might. Unprepared for an attack from within their own country, America was surprised. They recovered enough though for them to launch a counter attack. It might as well have been a lion versus a mouse. On one side we had overwhelming numbers, on the other we had Eraser who were more powerful that humans. I'm not talking about normal Erasers, I'm talking about Mark II Erasers. Those who became Erasers after birth. As powerful as the original, but has the life span as a human. There was no contest. In ten months, America fell. The country was left in ruins. Everyone they found were enslaved, those who resisted were made an example of. I'm not talking about hangings or being killed, I'm talking about something that is much worse. They were used as human experiments. Live human experiments. These experiments were broadcasted on international television. The UN and the rest of the nations condemned such experiments. But could they do? Itex had single handedly defeated the most powerful nation in the world.

Five months after the fall of America, Itex's next target was located. Asia. They launched a full offensive. This time however, it seemed as if they might lose. Last time Itex has the element of surprise, but ever since America fell, all of the countries had kept an eye on them. The war waged for nine months. There was a stand still. It was during this time that the School developed their third successful recombinants. They were known as Ghosts. Human chameleon hybrids. The perfect spies. Avian could fly, Erasers could morph, Ghosts could camouflage in to their backgrounds. Three months after their creation, Itex claimed Asia. Instead of keeping it, they did the unthinkable. They shipped everyone to the Itex in America and then dropped multiple nuclear missile on it making it impossible to live. The world was shocked, two of the greatest notions in the world were destroyed in just two and a half years. For the next four months Itex slowly restored order as they devoured those from Asia.

It was then that Arc first made their dramatic appearance. Arc. A resistance group. No body had expected them to survive for so long and yet they did. As their first mission, they managed to destroy one of the reactors that Itex and the School uses for power. Slowly over the next five months they annoyed Itex. Stealing equipment here, killing personnel there, a couple of mines here and there. By themselves they managed to delay Itex's plans. At first they were only a nuisance, but they slowly grew in to a threat. Seven months since their first strike, Itex halted their world domination plan to take care of Arc. A smart commander leaves no enemies behind that could attack from behind. For the next three months, the world waited tensely for the news that Itex had finally won, but no news ever came. Soon everyone was asking who the leader of Arc was. Who was it that commanded a rag tag army? How was it possible for this army to do what both America and Asia had failed? What was the secret? These and more questions filled filled everyone's mind. It's been three months since and the war is still on.

However only I can save the world. Sure it's currently ending, but it hasn't ended yet. There's a problem with that though. You see, since I left the Flock 49 months ago, I've checked myself permanently in to a mental hospital. It was the only place I could think of that Erasers couldn't follow me into. How do I know all this then? Well, spending four years and a months with a Voice in my head made us become good friends. It's kind of necessary because it's not as I can get away from him. Yes, I'm calling the Voice him. He has too much personality to be mechanical. It's been four years and five months since I've last seen the Flock. To tell you the truth, I don't really want to see them again, the scars of the past are too fresh. Then again, I've never really had control over my destiny.

A/N Sorry about how short this chapter is, but it was just setting the scene after all. I do not hate American's or Asian's. I have a good friend in America and I'm Asian. Reviews would be nice.


	2. Ophiuchus

**A/N Thanks to all reviews**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter I: Ophiuchus

Max POV

I simply lay on the floor with my eyes closed. The walls used to be white, but after four years of neglect, it's started to turn gray. As always, my mind played videos of the past. When all six of us were together. No matter how much I try to push the memories away, they always came back.

"_Morning Gazzy," I said as the heavy-lidded eight-year-old slumped at the table. I rubbed his back and dropped a kiss on his head. He'd been the Gasman ever since he was a baby. What can I say? The kid had a funky digestive system._

I remembered that memory, that was the morning that Angel was taken from us. The start of my nightmares. Why can't my brain just leave me alone? **Note to self: Send message to brain about memories Re: Flashbacks. **I sighed, sitting up I rubbed my eyes and stretched my wings. It's been so long since I've last used. A couple of times I've contemplated getting rid of them, but they've saved me so many times I decided against it. There's also the fact that I've got to explain where they came from and I'm not in an explaining mood. I wish I could just forget the past, all they do is bring pain. Memories. Who needs them?

"_Max," _came a Voice from inside my head. No I am not going crazy. Sometimes though I wish I was, that way everything's that's happened to me could be some hallucination. _"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get your mind off the past. It's the present that matters. You've got to save the world after all."_

"_I know," _I replied frustrated, _"But there's nothing to do in here. I'm bored." _There was a couple seconds of silence. _"How about a philosophical debate?" _I asked. Yeah, you heard me. Maximum Ride having philosophical debates with her voice. Unfortunately it was the only way to pass time down here. We could days on end with one topic.

There was a mental groan from the Voice, _"Another one?"_ he asked, _"Which one this time?"_ We had just finished our last one yesterday. It was if a tree falls in a forest and no one's around to hear it does it still make a sound? _"How does time and space are the same thing sound?"_

"_I was thinking about time travel." _Standing up, I went in to the kitchen. You see the door was locked from outside so I couldn't get out. However when the ward was being attacked, the western wall of my room collapsed and luckily for me, it lead to the kitchen.

_Can't we talk about what's happened on the outside?"_ pleaded the Voice, _" Have new information."_

"_You can't get out of it so easily Voice."_

I heard something that sounded a lot like a mental sigh. _"Fine. Should you start or should I?"_

"_I'll start. In my opinion, there is no difference to history when traveling back in time." _Moving over I pulled out a pot and started making dinner, or lunch, or breakfast, or any meal in between. It was hard telling the time down here.

"_That makes no sense what's so ever. Are you saying that if some one went back in time and killed Shakespeare there will be no change in history?" _he argued.

"_Exactly. Answer this question then. If a boy is walking down the street on his way to school and an old man walks up to him and says, "Don't walk down that path. If you do you'll die." Not believing him, the boy continues down the path. For the rest of the day, he constantly sees the old man following him. Finally he runs on to the road without looking in an attempt to get away from him. A truck tries to stop, but he couldn't stop in time and gets hit and finally dies. His best friend is distraught with the death. After sixty years, he finally invents a time machine. Riding it, he goes back to the day that his friend was killed. He walks up to him and says, "Don't walk down that path. If you do you'll die." Not believing him, the boy continues down the path. For the rest of the day, he constantly sees the old man following him. Finally he runs on to the road without looking in an attempt to get away from him. A truck tries to stop, but he couldn't stop in time and gets hit and finally dies." _I told him, _"In those situations, which event trigged the death of the boy? The fact that truck didn't stop in time? Was that what trigged it?"_ I smiled, there was no way he could answer that question. It was a paradox in it's self.

"_I'd have to say," _started the Voice cautiously, _"What triggered everything was the death of the boy itself."_ I was flabbergasted. Only the sensation of boiling water on my hand brought me back to reality. Pulling my hand away, I turned down the stove and rinsed my hand under cold water. The Voice was laughing all the way.

"_That was not funny," _I told him, _"I could have been seriously hurt. And the hell does that work?"_

"_Think about it. If the boy hadn't died in the first place then none of the other things would have happened."_

"_But if the boys friend hadn't gone back in time then he wouldn't have had a reason to cross the road therefore he wouldn't have died." _A growling sound came from in side my mind.

"_Very well. Tell me then how does that work?"_

"_Well, this is what I think. There are an infinite number of worlds. For each infinite number of worlds there is an infinite copy of that world. For each infinite copy, it is split an infinite amount of times. Each time is the tiniest measurement of time." _Carefully I was adding noodles in to the boiling water. _"Take away everything except for the last few statements. Think of it as a giant grid with no beginning or end. Each time two lines cross are a time. If you just travel to the left, you are getting in to the past. If you travel downwards you're getting in to the past as well. Except that past is that copies past. What I think is that when traveling through time, people actually travel side ways. They don't travel in to their own past, instead they travel sideways to one of those infinite copies instead. Into the past of one of those copies." _Holding the pot, I moved back into my own room.

"_You might want to make extra," _suggested the Voice. I just nodded my head, there was no point arguing with the Voice. He was almost always right. _"What you say does make some sense, but not all of it. I see what you're trying to say and I agree with you. When you put it that way it makes sense, when one travels back in time, you alter another's past and not your own. So when another's past is altered, they have to travel back in time like you did and due to that another's history is altered. Because there is an infinite number of copies, there will always be one that is altered and another that is altering."_

"_When will the guest arrive?" _I asked as I finished preparing more food. There was a soft knock at the door.

"_That would be him."_

"You have to open it yourself, it's locked from outside," I called out. After a few seconds, the door creaked open. It swung open slowly. Standing in front of me was a wolf. It had steel gray fur and he reached up to my waist. Being the height that I was, he was a really big wolf. At first my heart leapt in to my throat. I had built distrust for all wolfs. It comes naturally after running from Erasers for so long. My fear of Erasers was almost as great as my fear from needles. I looked straight in its eyes. As soon as I did that though, I was caught. They were so hypnotic. I wanted to stand, but couldn't. I was trapped. "I've made food for you," I found myself saying as I pushed the bowl towards him. He blinked once and looked down at bowl. As soon as he did that, I looked away. Those eyes…

"Thanks," he said. His voice was gravelly and slightly rough. I was startled. Did it just speak? Am I finally going crazy? "You don't know how long it's been since I've had a decent meal. Hunting's poor now thanks to Itex." Dropping his head, he took a sip. Immediately, he spat it back out. "If you don't mind I'd rather go hungry." Looks like my cooking's still pretty bad.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"My name?" he asked confused, "It's been so long since someone's actually asked me that." He chuckled as if it was some joke. "My name's Ophiuchus. People call me Ophius though."

"Ophiuchus. No offense, but that's a really strange name," I commented.

"That's what everyone says. I'm named after the thirteenth Zodiac," he replied. I nodded my head as if I knew what he was talking about.

"_Voice do you know what he's talking about?"_ I asked him, _"I thought there were only twelve Zodiac's."_

"_No Max. There are in fact thirteen. Not many people know about it though. Even less is known about it," _he replied, _" It's covered during November 30 to December 17 although it shifts sometimes."_

"You okay?" he asked me, "You blanked out for a couple of seconds."

"Yeah I'm fine." I was too busy trying to stop myself from shaking. His face was right in front of mine. It was freaking me out.

"There's no need to be afraid," he told me calmly.

"What? How did…"

"How did I know?" he asked, "Like all animals, I can smell emotions. Currently I smell fear. You might not be showing it, but I can smell it."

"Why are you here?" I asked suddenly.

"Why?" he echoed, "Because I've been paid to find you and bring you to Arc, that's why." Lying down, he stretched. "I'm being paid a lot as well."

"Arc?" I asked perplexed, "Why do they want me?"

"Apparently you're the only one that can save the world or something like that." I was surprised, no one knew about my destiny. The only people that knew were the Flock.

"Who's in charge of Arc?" I asked him rather sharply.

"That is one question I can not answer because I do not know the answer. All I know is that he told me to bring you in to Arc," Orphius answered.

"So you're a good guy then?"

He laughed. It was an infectious laugh I couldn't help, but smile. "That's the first time some one's called me a good guy. I'm what people call a Terrahound."

"Terrahound?" I asked him.

"Have you been living under a rock for the past few years?" he asked. I glanced around me looking at my surroundings.

"Well, it's slightly more glamorous than a rock. It's definitely more comfortable," I answered.

"I guess I deserved that," he replied. "Well Terrahounds are basically people who hire themselves out for jobs here and there. We're basically a group of jack-of-all-trades. This time it was Arc that hired me."

"When do we leave?" I asked him. As much as I liked this place, seeing these four walls for over four years can get extremely tiresome.

"Tomorrow," he replied. "We'll leave tomorrow." With those words, he lied down on the ground and closed his eyes.

"_What do you think?" _I asked him.

"_Well… I'm not too sure if we can trust him. Time will tell though."_

"_So we play along for now?"_

"_Yes Max. We'll play along for now." _Nodding my head, I walked over to my bed and slipped in. Tomorrow, my nightmare ends and reality begins.

**A/N I'm sorry about the philosophical debate section. I was trying to show that Max and the Voice had become friends, but still disagree on things. Reviews would be nice. I'll try to find time to write up my profile, but I'm kinda busy with school right now. I could stop writing for a while so I've got time to place something on my profile.**


	3. Exit

A/N Please reread chapter one, I just realized I uploaded the wrong chapter. Sorry. Thanks to all reviews 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter II: Exit.

Max POV

I was awakened by the sound of a beeping oven. Opening my eyes, I glanced around the room. What time was it? I searched to room for a clock. Oh yeah, there's no clocks down here. After over four years down here, I still couldn't get used to the fact there are no clocks down here. Sitting up, I climbed out of bed.

"_Morning Voice," _I called out mentally.

"_Go away Max," _came the reply, _"It's not even morning yet. Go back to sleep."_ I grinned at his reaction. Over the months we had become fairly good friends. Standing, I walked in to the kitchen ready to prepare breakfast. Standing in front of me was a wolf. Where the hell did he come from? _"He came to take you to Arc remember?" _He had his for paws on the counter and was standing. He had the salt shaker in his mouth. Placing it down, he dropped back on to four legs and walked over towards the cupboard. Opening it, he pulled out two bowls. Placing it on the counter, he then managed to pour out the soup and some noodles. Landing on his four legs again, he just gave a look.

"You want some help?" I asked after a couple of seconds.

"What do you think?" he asked sarcastically. Walking over, I picked up the two bowls and brought them in to my room. Placing it gently on the ground, I began to eat. The food was great.

"_What does that say about your cooking Max? A wolf can beat you," _came the Voice. So much for being asleep.

"_You've never cooked in you life," _I retorted. I could hear a chuckle. The food was good though. It was better than my cooking, but nowhere as good as Iggy's. Iggy. Just thinking about him brought back memories.

"_Okay," muttered Iggy. He pulled out his little lock-picking kit out of his pock, as I knew he would. Even though I had confiscated it for forever only two months ago, after he picked the lock on my closet at home._

All the time I was eating, I could feel his gaze on me. At first I was fine by it, but after a while it was starting to unnerve me.

"What?" I finally asked him.

"Most people ask me about my past and how it was I could talk. Why haven't you?" he asked me.

Smiling ruefully at him, I replied, "If your past is half as bad as mine, it must have been crappy. You probably want to forget about it." I placed down the bowl. "I know I want to."

"I've stop trying to forget the past long ago Max." How the hell did he know my name? "I've found out that it doesn't work. It's not that simple."

"How do you know my name?" I demanded. He just smiled at me. I shook my head slightly in disgust. Suddenly he raised his head and cocked it to one side. I've seen a similar movement from Iggy. He always did that when he was listening intently. Closing my eyes, I tried to listen. All I could hear were the sounds of rats and water dripping.

"!? &)" he exclaimed, swiping with his paw, he knocked the bowl over and into the wall here it smashed into pieces. "I was hoping we had more time."

"The School?" I asked him. He just nodded. He should meet Fang some day. Fang. At his thought I felt all the anguish that I had kept bundled up over the past few years about to burst. No, this will not happen. I will not lose it now.

"_Angel," he said severely. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, her face grubby, clothes filthy, conrows all fuzzy._

"_The first time you don't take care of him, boom, he's gone, he's out," Fang said. "Understood?"_

_Angels face lit up and she threw herself into Fang's arms while I gaped of him. He hugged Angel, then caught my expression. He shrugged at let Angel go._

"_She made Bambi eyes at me," he whispered. "You know I can't resist it when she does the Bambi eyes."_

"We have to hurry," continued Ophius seemingly not notice my relapse in to memory lane. "They will arrive in a couple if minutes." He cocked his head to the side again listening to something that was too far away. "Five minutes max." I smile crossed his face. "No pun intended."

"We better hurry then." Opened the door for Ophius. He just shot me look of pure malice. However, he still went through it without protest.

"Follow me," he whispered. I frowned, did he really say anything at all? He spoke so quietly that I wasn't sure. Not bothering to glance behind him to see if I was following him, he ran down the right hand corridor. I had a hard time to catch up with him.

"_Is what he's saying true?" _I asked inwardly.

"_So far everything checks out. I still wouldn't trust him though," _suggested the Voice.

"_You know how hard it was to gain my trust," _I reminded him. I received what felt like agreement from the Voice. When I finally managed to catch up with him, he started moving faster. All the time he was some how keeping silent. The corridors twisted and more than once I had jump over rubble that had fallen in. I could run for almost as long as thirty minutes flat out, but the wolf was managing to give a run for my money. Turning yet another corner, I had to lean back and slide under a pole that had dropped down and cut the height by more than three quarters. Getting back on to my feet, I raced off again. A head of me, I could barely see the tail of Ophius.

"There she is!!" yelled the voice of an Eraser behind me. Footsteps and yelling immediately followed. How much dumber could they be? It would have been so much smarted if he had sneaked up behind me.

"_Don't curse a dumb enemy," _advised my Voice. I simply ignored him. I was busy after all. I turned corner after corner no longer bothering to follow my guide. I had to take care of the Erasers on my tail first. The good news was that they weren't using guns… yet. I slowed my pace until I was just trotting. Stopping completely, I bent over and took deep breaths. It seems like a long time of no exercise can make one run slower. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on listening for pursuers.

"Tired already?" asked a voice. Ophiuchus. "We've still got a while to go."

"Where have you been?" I asked him gazing at his yellow eyes. He returned my gaze without flinching. In the end, I was the one to look away. There was something about him. "Where have you been?" I questioned again.

"Here and there," he replied ambiguously. "Try to keep up this time," he yelled over his shoulder as he started racing down the corridors again. Sighing, I raced after him, going slower this time. I don't know how long I ran through the corridors. **Note to self: Talk to wolf about his attitude Re: Attitude problem.** I don't know how long I ran after him. It could have been days. It was timeless down here. Everything looked the same as when I first came here. Except for the holes and broken pipes anyway. The floor under me suddenly disappeared. I plunged in to freezing cold water. One could keep ice in here without it melting.

"Don't make so much noise," hushed Ophius. I just growled at him. His reply was a chuckle. A wolf chuckling is something everyone must see. Moving slowly through the water, the water level dropped and I swallowed a mouthful. Trust me sewage water tastes disgusting. I think it was sewage anyway. Kicking off the bottom, I gulped down a mouthful of air and I started swimming after Ophius.

"How much further?" I asked him. He just shot me a look and I immediately shut up. Hurling himself out, he waited at the bank for me to appear.

"Ghosts," he whispered at me. I nodded my head. I knew exactly what they were. Human chameleon hybrid with the power to camouflage in to their backgrounds. The ultimate spies.

"Where?" I asked him.

"There." Pointing with his noise towards a run down vending machine. "We'll have to go through another exit." Turning around, he went back into the water. Sighing, I followed him. Sure I was acting meekly for now, but he knew more than I did. Sighing, I followed him back in. Taking a deep breath of air, he submerged. Following suite, I swam under the water. Soon, he disappeared in to a tunnel. Surfacing, I took a second helping of air before I entered. Darkness immediately surrounded me. Placing a hand on the wall, I made sure that I was going in the right direction. At first I found no discomfort, but after a while the lack of oxygen started getting to me. It would have been easier if I could see. That way I would be able to tell if my vision was dimming, as it was I couldn't tell. I was starting to feel faint and my lungs were burning. Desperately, I started swimming faster. In front of me I could see a light. I reached out for it, but no matter how hard I tried, it always seemed just out of my grasp. A fleeting dream.

Sitting up, I coughed as hard as I could and water came out. Bending over, I kept on coughing, a hacking cough. What had happened?

"_You drowned," _reported my Voice. I had drowned? Then how was I still alive? _Ophiuchus performed mouth to mouth. _At the thought, I knelled over and vomited up my stomach. Now that was disgusting. Having a wolf perform mouth to mouth. I wiped my mouth several times trying to get rid of it.

"You all right?" he asked concerned.

"Did you have to perform mouth to mouth?" I asked him in a disgusted tone. He heard it loud and clear.

"Your welcome," he replied sarcastically. "Next time I'll ask you whether or not you want to live or not when you're dying shall I?" With those words, he stalked away.

"_When your house is on fire, you don't have time to chose which bucket to put it out," _commented my Voice.

"_Go #$& yourself."_ Surveying my surroundings, I saw that we were still in the facility. Just how large was this place? Standing up, I ran after the wolf. "How much further do we have to go?" I yelled after him. Ophius didn't even bother turning, instead he just continued walking and was soon enveloped by darkness. Once I caught up with him, I walked next to him. An uneasy silence descended on us. He led the way and I followed. "Where are we?" I asked him. Silence.

"Don't you have eyes?" he replied. Looking around me, I saw that there were train tracks.

"You mean we're in the underground railway station?" I exclaimed. He didn't bother answering. Iguess I should have thanked him after all. "Look I'm sorry," I apologized. Silence. "Ophius..."

"What." His voiced echoed all around us.

"I'm sorry. You saved me and I should be thankful," I told him. A simple nod of his head acknowledged what I had said. "And I thank you for saving my life. It's just…" I trailed off uncertain what I should say next.

"To save you I had to perform mouth to mouth and you found that disgusting," he finished for me.

"Yeah."

"You think I like it more than you did?" he demanded me. I was startled. I hadn't thought that he would find it unwelcome. "I only did it because there was no other solution Max. Trust me." Absently, I reached down and scratched him behind the ears like I did for Total so long ago. Total. It's been so long, I wonder if he's still alive?

The dog wiggled out of her arms to sit at her side. It looked pretty normal as far as I could tell. Its bright, black doggy eyes shone at me and it was grinning in a friendly way. Its short stumpy tail was wagging. Its nose sniffed the air happily, excited by all the new scents in the world.

"You know I'm not a dog," came Ophius voice from my waist.

"You seemed to be enjoying it," I told him. He suddenly started running. More running? Pushing off from the wall I was leaning on, I followed him. All I could make out was his tail, but that was enough. After a while of cat and mouse, I finally caught up out of breath. I looked out and I saw the world for the first time in over four years. The sun rose slowly from the from behind the hills tainting the sky a crimson red. A gray landscape greeted it. Death and destruction as far as the eye could see. Smoke coiled itself along the ruins of skyscrapers, constricting them, killing them. Blades of silence strike the world. Oblivion awaited all life. The carcasses of cars littered the streets. Some had been picked by vultures and left to rot in the sun. All that was left was an ending slaughter.

"Is this what the world has become?" I whispered.

"I'm afraid so. There's no life left upon the world," he sounded so weary, so weak. "Itex destroyed them long ago. They were smart enough to leave the Amazon Forest untouched and they left most of the animals along." His voice took on an ironic tone. "There's no point ruling a dying world." I returned my gaze to the view of massacre in front of me.

"_I have to save this?" _I asked incredulous. _"This wasteland?"_

"_Yes you do Max. Yes you do."_ The Voice sounded sad. Ever so sad.

"I better get started then," I announced out loud.

"Get on with what?" asked Ophius.

"Save the world."

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	4. More Tunnels

A/N Thanks to all reviews 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter III: More Tunnels

Max POV

We made our way slowly through the ruins. Where was I? Every I looked seemed the same. Ruins. Death. Decay. Destruction. That was all I saw. We had to walk along the ground. Dust. Darkness. Contamination. Wreckage. They surrounded me. The once lively city was reduced to silence. An oppressive silence. I wished I could fly, but I'd see the same thing. It was an endless sea. It had no beginning or end. If I did fly, I would be shot down. Icarus, the tale of the boy who flew too high and crashed to the ground. Carcasses littered the streets. Ophius and I walked through the town slowly wading through the swamp it had become. We couldn't run either. Sure I was built better than humans, but that didn't mean I could keep up with Orphius. Oriphus. He was shrouded in mystery. I knew absolutely nothing about him only that he was hired to take me to Arc. A Terrahound he called himself. Interesting. Then again, he knew even less about me. Beads of sweat glistened on my skin. The soft pitter patter of sweat dropping on to the ground was the sound there was in this place. This hellhole. It reminded me of the mental institute I had checked into. After the war was over in America, I was the only person left alive. The only sounds were the occasional dripping water and me yelling at the Voice. I thought that once I was out it would be different. Apparently not.

"We'll be stopping here for today," announced Ophius. I looked up, the sun hadn't even crossed above us yet. Afternoon was still a couple hours away. "We're staying here for the night."

"The night?" I asked him, "I might be wrong, but it's still day." He just stared at me as if I was an idiot.

"If you want to continue walking in the sun, be my guest," he growled. "Once the sun's at the mid point I'll say you've got less than an hour to live."

"It's that hot?" I exclaimed. He just nodded his head and entered the building he had pointed out. Well, it really wasn't a building, it was closer to half a building. I followed him silently for a while and he finally stopped once he was further in. Why didn't he just stop at the entrance?

"I'll make something to eat and then we'll sleeping." Standing up, he left in search of food. I sat content against the wall. Slowly his footsteps receded until it was completely gone. A familiar feeling of heat spread through my body. Standing up, I raced out trying to put as much distance between the two of us as possible. I took turn after turn remembering to count this time. Soon I found myself in a bathroom. Stepping over, I looked down in a shuttered mirror that had fallen on the ground. Eraser Max was back. I took a couple of deep breaths trying to control my emotions. I glanced down at my hands and saw that they had turned in to claws. I looked once again at the mirror and saw the transformations continue. It did not look pretty. The good thing was that it did not usually hurt. This time however, it did. Ever been branded? Well that was what my whole body felt like it was going through. I had to bite the inside of my lip to stop me from calling out. Slowly the heat and pain receded, the transformation was complete. I looked like a wolf. A wolf standing on two legs. My eyes were yellow like a wolf's. Basically I was a real life were wolf. Not the bending over drooling were wolf, but the one where by I still had the limbs of a human. I don't know what the School did to me, but this was the result.

"Max?" called Ophius.

"I'm in here," I called out. "Do not come in," I added. Laughter came from the other side of the door.

"Lunch will be done in a couple of minutes." The sound of his footsteps retreating made me let go of my breath. I hadn't even realized I was holding it.

"_Holding back the transformations is not a good idea," _advised my Voice.

"_I know that," _I replied testily. _"But it was necessary."_

"_If you say so Max," _replied the Voice. He didn't believe me, but that didn't matter.

"_How long will this last?" _I asked him.

"_A couple of minutes."_ A couple of minutes? That was good. Closing my eyes, I concentrated and imagined myself as normal Max. I felt the sensation of ice being placing all over my body. First I was being roasted now I'm being frozen. Fun, fun, fun. Prickling sensations rippled through my body. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was back to now normal. At least what I considered normal. Opening the door, I stepped out and slowly made my way back the camp. Sunlight came in through on of the holes in the roof and lying dead under it was a bunch of rats. Deep fried goodness.

"I see what you mean when you said I would live for only an hour," I told him when I reached camp. "I met a couple of rats on the way here." He didn't even bother looking up from the food he was eating.

"We'll be traveling mostly by night," he informed me, "That way we avoid the sun and hopefully most Erasers." Erasers, god I hate them.

"Where did you find the food?" I picked up a bowl and started eating.

"I planted some food here and there so that we'll be able to eat on our way to Arc without having to carry a back pack full of junk," he informed me. Stretching, he strolled over towards a pile of mats. He dropped down on them with an uncharacteristic thump. I finished my food and walked over and decided to sleep on the floor.

"Don't you want a mat?" he asked me without turning, "It's a lot better than sleeping on the ground."

"Why don't you sleep on the floor," I asked him, "And I could sleep on the mats." Laughter greeted my words.

"Have you heard of sharing?" he questioned. "I'm sure you have." His voice took on a sarcastic tone, "Sharing is when tow or people come to an understanding over something and decide to distribute it fairly," he explained as if I was five years old.

"Fine!!" I yelled. Getting up, I moved over towards him. Pushing him over with my foot I dropped down on the mat. "Happy?" I demanded. His answer was a sly smile. "Paws to yourself," I told him sternly.

"Would I do that?" Throwing a paw over my shoulder so that it rested on my chest. Picking it up as if it was vile, I threw t back over my shoulder.

"Paws to yourself," I repeated turning to face. The hurt look on my face made to burst out laughing. For all of silence, he still enjoyed to joke around. He was a strange one. "Good night," I told him.

"Good night," he echoed. Impulsively, I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his snot.

"Wow," he whispered his eyes wide. Laughing at his reaction, I turned over and promptly fell asleep.

I woke to the smell of breakfast. Ophius might be a wolf, but he knew how to cook. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. "Morning," he called.

I looked out the hole in the wall, it was almost night. "Does it count as morning?" I asked him. Following my gaze, he laughed silently to himself.

"I guess it doesn't after all," he replied. "We've leaving in a couple of minutes so eat up." Standing up, I walked over towards the bowl and started eating. Once I was done, I placed down the bowl and started walking towards the exit.

"Not that exit," he told me. Turning, he walked in the opposite direction. Stepping next to the mats, he started moving them. Walking over I started helping out. Once all of the mattresses were removed there was a hole in the ground.

"You mean we slept on that?" I exclaimed. "We could have fallen through."

"But we didn't," he replied. With a single leap, he jumped down the hole. Sighing sadly I walked over towards the hole. The smell of sewage wafted up. Why did it always have to be the sewer?

"_No body ever check the sewage system that's why," _replied my Voice.

"_You'd think after so many times we've used them they would be smarter," _I replied.

"_That's saying Erasers could think in the first place." _We both chuckled. Stepping over, I jumped down pulling the mats across at the same time. I landed softly underground and promptly slipped over.

"Nice landing." His yellow eyes danced in the darkness. I searched around frantically for something to chuck at him, in the end I opted to just kick him in the face.

"That was not necessary," he complained while rubbing his nose. He acted so human in some situations.

"This isn't a sewage system," I announced after I had time to survey my surroundings. It seemed more like a…

"This is a train track," he announced. "It abandoned long ago and we can cut out a couple weeks walking going through here."

I placed a hand on his neck, "We better get started then." We started moving through the maze. "The sooner we get to Arc, the sooner I can save to world."

"Why do you keep on saying that?" he asked me.

"Saying what?" I asked him perplexed.

"That you're going to save the world," he answered. "No one knows their destiny Max. Anyone could be destined to save the world."

"That's where you're wrong," I reprimanded him. "I know I'm meant to save the world. That's my destiny."

"How do you know?" he asked him.

"Am I being interrogated?" I asked him. He just snarled at me. "Just trust me on this one. I have it from a very high authority."

"_High authority?" _echoed my Voice.

"_Just shut up," _I told him.

"High authority?" echoed Ophius as well.

"Just trust me on this Ophius," I told him sweetly. He simply chuckled to himself. "What is it," I demanded.

"You're the first person in a long time to say it right," he announced.

"I guess that's a good thing," I replied.

"Yes it is a good time. A very good thing," he told me. We continued or way down the tunnel. Each lost in our own thoughts. I was shocked out of my memories as I bumped in to Ophius.

"_Ghosts," _supplied my Voice. I nodded my head and lowered my body in to the shadows. The lights above flickered on and off.

"_Where?" _I asked.

"_Ten feet in front and five across. There're two and they're currently busy."_ I made a disgusted look with my face. In the tunnels? I could feel Ophius tense next to me. Closing my eyes, I concentrated and I could feel my eyes changing. When I looked through them once again, everything was gray, but I could see a strange disturbance in the air where the Voice had pointed out. The lights flashed off and he pounced out. Dashing out of my hiding place, I managed to hit the second on the neck. An audible crack echoed through the tunnels. Shutting my eyes before he could see my eyes, I returned them back to normal.

"You knew where he was?" he asked surprised. I just shrugged off his question. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"

"Your on a need to know bases," I replied. Swiveling, he continued to walk the way we were going.

"How long have we been done here?" I asked him.

"Are you hungry yet?" he asked me. What a strange question. Oh well, I might as well amuse him.

"No not yet," I replied.

"Then you haven't been down here for more than a couple of hours," he replied over his shoulder.

**A/N Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	5. Hate

A/N Thanks to all reviews 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter IV: Hate.

Max POV

We continued down the tunnel after we had met the Ghost and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I don't know how long we traveled, everything looked the same. Slime covered walls, holes in walls, you know the usual. Oh, did I mention the silence? The only sound that we could hear was dripping water and my footsteps. That was why when I heard the sound of rain it made me jump.

"You alright?" asked Ophius.

"Is that rain?" I asked him peering at the ceiling. He blinked in surprise and a couple seconds of silence followed.

"Yes it is," he remarked surprised. "I wasn't paying attention and missed it." He continued down the path without any other words.

"_What's up with him?" _I asked my Voice.

"_What are you talking about?" _he replied.

"_The way he's acting," _I replied annoyed. _"He seems distant lately."_

I heard the Voice chuckling, _"If you don't know then I'm not going to tell you."_ I growled at him and even more laughter ringed in my mind.

"Great," remarked Ophius. Most people would have sworn or yelled, he just stated simply. "This is just sad."

"What's wrong?" I asked him walking next to him. The lights were out in this section so I couldn't see properly.

"A massive pool of water," he replied calmly.

"Water?" I asked him.

"Rain water," he clarified.

"Is there a difference?" I questioned.

"Rain water is corrosive. It's worse than acid rain," he explained patiently. "If someone stays in the rain of over an hour, it starts to burn." He paced around. "And that's only a light drizzle. In a pool this size…" he trailed off.

"Not good?" I suggested.

"I say we have a couple of seconds." He sighed. "Looks like we'll have to take a detour."

"No we won't," I told him. I turned and looked at me. I walked over and picked him up.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"Stop struggling," I ordered him. "Do you know how much you weigh?" He weighed more than twice as much as Total and trust me, Total weighed a lot. We managed to weigh him once and he was as heavy as Nudge. Nuge.

"_In Death Valley, eight miles due north from Badwater Basin." Her mouth opened to add more, but I raised my eyebrow at her. I love Nudge, Nudge is a great kid, but that motormouth of hers could have turned Mother Terresa in to an ax murderer._

The memory slowly faded from my mind. How long had it been since I had last seen the Flock? 49 months was it? If I see them before I die it would be too soon. Especially Fang. God I had him. I felt a wet nose being pushed in the hollow of my neck. Startled, I looked down and saw Ophius gazing at me. He didn't show any emotion, but I could tell he was worried.

"Hold on tight." Unfurling my wings, I pushed off the ground. It was tiring work. It's been so long since I had last used them. To make matters worse, the tunnel was barely large enough for my wingspan and I had wolf in my arms. By the time I had gotten to the other side, my wing joints felt like they were on fire.

"Nice wings," he remarked as I landed. "Where can I get a pair?" I smiled at him too tired to answer. "You never told me about them."

"I thought you knew," I replied between breaths. "After all you were charged with getting me."

"I was on a need to know bases." Strolling over, he pulled out a clear bag with food in it. Ripping it open, he grabbed a sandwich and started eating. Walking over, I did the same. We ate in silence.

"How long have I been down here?" I asked him.

"A week or so," he replied.

"How much further?" I asked him.

"A couple of days," he replied not really listening to my questions.

"Then we reach Arc?" I asked him.

"No of course not. It'll take a lot longer to reach Arc." He grabbed another and started eating that one. Yeah a couple more months stuck with Ophius.

"_It could be worse Max," _stated my Voice, _"You could be stuck with Nudge or Ari." _The mention of his name set my blood on fire. Ari. I swear I'm going to kill him some day.

Ari struggled to get up, wheezing like a large animal with pneumonia, trying to push myself off. I grabbed his head with both hands, my face twisted with fury. But he got away from me. He was so fast, faster than I was. Ari punched me again and I thought I heard a rib crack. He was taking me apart bit by bit. Why did he hate me so? Why did all of the Erasers hate us?

"_Yes Maximum, I am enjoying this. I want it to last a long, long time."_

_I was his pummeling bag now and there was nothing I could do about it. You can't imagine the hurt and pain or fury aimed at me._

"_I swear I'm going to kill him again," _I told my Voice sharply, _"I'll kill him again and again. I'll kill him as many times as I need to. If he dies, I will going in to hell, drag him back and kill him again."_ I wasn't even aware that Ophius was staring at me. _"I promise you that."_

"I promise you!!" I yelled out loud. Ophius silently edged away from me trying to be inconspicuous. "I'll kill Ari and Fang and Iggy and everyone else!!" Emotionally drained, I sank to the floor whispering to myself, "I'm going to kill them all even if it's the last thing I do."

"_I remember a girl long ago commenting that the Flock was her world,"_ stated the Voice.

"_That was before everything that happened," _I replied dripping with venom. _"They betrayed me. They pushed me over the edge. I will kill them all."_

"_What about Nudge, Gazzy and Total?"_ interrogated my Voice. _"Will you kill them as well?"_

"_If I have to,"_ was my reply.

"_What about Fang?" _he questioned further.

"_If I have to. He betrayed me. He broke me. I will kill him if I have to."_ Standing up, I saw Ophius watching me intently as I walked over towards the pool we had just come from. He didn't make a move to stop me. Bending over, I saw my reflection. It wasn't Max that stared back at me, it was Eraser Max.

"You can't keep me buried forever Max," started my reflection. "I will break out."

"What no hello?" I asked her. "Come on it's been so long. Tell me what you did in the Christmas holidays?"

She laughed. My reflection laughed at me. "I did the same thing as you Max. I stayed cooped up like a bird in a cage." Her tone suddenly turned serious. "I know you want revenge Max. I can help you with that. I can make revenge so sweet."

"You might be able to help," I told her, "But I want to be conscious when it happens. I want to know why they did it." The image was shattered by Ophius. He had splashed the water making it ripple and vanish.

"Why did you do that for!!" I yelled him.

"It is not a good idea to talk to her Max," he replied limping away.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, "Do you know who she is?"

"Everyone has a dark side Max. You more than most," he replied ambiguously. "Don't talk to her and you should be fine."

"What do you know!!" I yelled at him tackling him to the ground. Sitting on top of him, I had my hand over his throat ready to choke him. We stared at each other in silence. Frightened, I got off him and dropped on to my knees. "What's going on?" I asked him my voice above a hoarse whisper.

"That is for you to figure out," he replied. "You mustn't fight it Max." Slipping over towards a dry corner, he laid down and started to sleep.

"You alright?" I asked him.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"The last time some one said that, he almost died," I told him with a bark of laughter. "I should have let him die," I added. Walking over, I slipped down next to him pulling my fingers through his fur. It was so luxurious and soft. Reaching over with my other hand, I grabbed the paw he was limping with earlier. Inspecting it, I saw that some of the skin had been burnt off.

"What happened?" I asked him. I just looked away. Reaching out I grabbed his face and made him look at me. "What happened," I demanded. He mumbled something incoherent. I just stared at him.

"It was the water," he replied trying to pull away.

"When did you do that?" I asked him concerned. He should be taking stupid risks like this. Shifting his body, he managed to pull away this time and no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't meet my gaze.

"_Voice?" _I asked silently wanting his advice. Silence greeted my request. That was strange, the Voice usually answered when I called. Closing my eyes, I tried to think of when he would have touched the water. Then it suddenly hit me.

"You mean it was when…" I trailed off. He simply nodded his head. "I'm so sorry," I apologized burring my face his fur.

"It's alright," he replied. "Sleep now." Sleep? I didn't feel tired at all though. Even as I thought that last sentence, I could feel myself being dragged in to an endless darkness.

Strangely instead of finding sleep, I found myself in a darkness. I could feel terror staring to boil inside of me. I followed the Voice's advice and took a couple of deep breaths. The terror slowly subsided until it finally disappeared completely. I felt a ominous presence behind me.

"You sure took your time," it remarked. It's voice was a perfect match for mine.

"Not my fault," I replied to her still facing the other way.

"You know I can help right?" she asked.

"Not yet," I replied. "I need to know their reasons."

"Just so long as I get have some part in it."

"It may never come to that."

"Ari?"

"Ari will die. He will definitely die," I told her. A maniac laughter echoed in the hollow void. I smiled at her reaction.

"Well until next time," she replied. I could feel the malice that tainted the void slowly recede.

"Next time," I called after her, "Pick some where more cheery."

"Will do old friend, will do."

Slowly, the darkness started closing in around me. My vision slowly receded until I was left with an image of the person I had just talked to. Above me, I could hear the Voice sigh, _"What have you done?"_

"_Don't worry everything I do, I do for a reason," _I told him, _"You know what I'm thinking, dig a little deeper and figure it out."_ I could feel a mental probe going through my mind. Laughter came through.

"_Smart Max. This will give you all of your powers," _he remarked.

"_You always told me to do a compromise and I have."_

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	6. Memories

**A/N My profile is finally up. Read it if you want. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter V: Memories.

Max POV

"How much longer?" I asked Ophius annoyed. We managed to reach the end of the tunnel without any more incidents, but the rain was still bearing down on top of us, so we had to stay in the tunnel until it was over. That was over three days ago.

"Patience Max," he replied without even opening an eyelid. He stayed in the same position for all of the three days. Lying on the ground in front of the exit. It just made thing worse. How can he be so calm when we were on a schedule… at least I think we're a schedule.

"_Be patient Max," _came the Voice, _"There's a place and time for everything."_

"_This is so boring though," _I complained, _"We need to go to Arc so we can save the world. That's what you've been telling me for the past few years."_

"_There is always a time and place Max. Remember that." _His presence lifted from my mind. Damn it!!

"How the how can you be so calm?" I demanded.

"An experienced hunter must have patience," he replied without moving. "It just so happens that wolfs are the best hunters around." I snorted at his answer. "You might not believe me, but it's true." Picking up a stone, I chucked it at him hitting him squarely on the head. Mock growling, he dived forward and landed right on top of me, his face inches from mine.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to hit a girl?" I asked him.

"You, a girl," he echoed in disbelief. Placing my hands on his paws, I kicked him in the stomach and through him in to the tunnel wall. Before he had time to recover, I was sitting on his stomach with his paws in the air.

"Didn't anyone tell you that this is animal cruelty?" he asked me.

"You deserve animal cruelty?" I asked in disbelief. If you blinked, you would have missed the next section. Amazingly, I didn't blink and I still missed it. Twisting his body, he managed to slip out from under me. Bring up a paw, he knocked me over and was on top of me yet again. We tussled for a couple of minutes before we both collapsed on to the ground exhausted. I fell on to the ground exhausted, Ophius looked as if he had been reading a book.

"Aren't you tired," I asked him between breaths.

"I'm a wolf, we can ran for days on end without tiring." He laid down next to me where I could scratch behind his ears. "We have one of the highest natural endurance on this planet." Talk about bragging. I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off with a shake of his head. Closing his eyes, he took a couple of deep breathes. I watched him intently, he's never done anything like this before. After a couple of seconds he started chuckling. "What?" I asked him.

"The rain will be ending soon," he replied his voice distant, "However, there will be heavy winds." I stared at him in disbelief. Opening an eye, he saw my reaction and smiled at me.

"How did you know that?" I asked him.

"I'm an animal, instinct comes in to play quite a bit," he replied shrugging.

"How long will we have to wait?" I asked him.

"I should be gone by tomorrow," he replied. "I suggest you get some sleep." He gazed out. "Tomorrow going to a long day." Nodding my head, I moved over towards him and rested my head on his side. It's not as if I like him or anything, its just that his fur was so soft and warm. Slowly, I drifted into sleep.

_Despite my growing anxiety, it was glorious up here. Not many birds flew this high, some falcons, hawks, other raptors. Every once in a while some of them would come check us out, probably thinking. _Man, those are some dang ugly birds.

_This high up, the land below took on a checkerboard effect of Robin Hoodsy greens and browns. Cars looked like busy ants moving purposely down their trails. Every once in a while I picked something small down below and focused on it. It was cool how some little tiny thing, like a swimming pool, a tracker, whatever, would ratchet into focus. At least those maniacs at the School hadn't had time to improve my vision like Iggy's._

"Enjoying the past?" asked a voice. I froze. This could not be happening. Every time I went in to the past, I couldn't get out. How the hell did she get in?

"I'm you Max," she replied. "I have your memories, I know everything about you." I just stared at her in surprise. Below me, the memory continued.

_I glanced down and refocus. The I scrowled. What had, at first glance, looked like a bunch of boring earthbound kids schlepping to school together now turned, upon closer examination, into what looked like several big kids surronding a much smaller kid. Okay, maybe I'm paranoid, _danger everywhere, _but I could swear the bigger kids looked really threatening._

Do you know how difficult it is trying to concentrate on my killer other half while part of my brain went through memories?

"Oh stop your complaining," exclaimed Eraser Max, "I'm going through the same thing here."

"How do you…"

"Know what your thinking?" she ended for me, looking at her nails. "I am you Max. I know exactly what you are thinking before even you know," she replied smugly.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

"What do you want?" she asked simultaneously. I just growled at her. She laughed, it a surprising sensual laugh. "I'm just here to remind you that you can't get rid of me no matter how hard you try. I will control your…"

_I landed a bit hard and had to run really fast to keep from doing a total face plant. I was somewhere in Arizona, trotting through the scrubby bush behind a deserted warehouse. I pulled my wings in, feeling them fold, hot from exercise, into tight accordion on either side of my neck. _There. Perfectly normal looking.

When I rounded the corner of the warehouse, I saw that there were three guys, maybe fifteen, sixteen years old. The girl looking younger, maybe twelve or so.

"…own body some day Max. I will strike when you least expect it," she finished. I shook my head trying to concentrate on what was happening now and not what had happened so long ago. "Not only that, but I'll also finally get revenge."

"Revenge?" I echoed perplexed.

"On Fang and the rest of them," she answered. "They wasted the past few years of my life. Not only that, but I want to make you suffer Max. I want you to suffer."

I laughed at her. I laughed in her face. "You think I don't want them to suffer?" I asked her. "They betrayed me!!" Was I screaming? I think I was. "They wanted to get rid of Max. Fang broke me and Iggy turned against everything we knew!! I will kill them and when I do, I will make them suffer!!" I threw my head back let go a maniac laughter. "You forgot our last meeting my old friend," I accused her.

"I forget nothing," she replied. Looking up, she stared straight in to my eyes. "Unlike you. I live with the past while you run from it. I am your darker half Max. I draw from your pain. From your sadness. From you anger. From your memories. You can't run from them forever." The scene below me started fade. It seemed like a water painting being washed away.

"_Three guys against one girl. That seems about even," I said, straiding up. It was hard tryiong to keep the fury off my face. My blood was singing with it._

"_Shut up, chick," one of the boys snapped. "You better get out of here if you…"_

His voiced faded away. A second memory started being drawn on the empty void. Eraser Max just stood there waiting for my reaction.

_A full moon hung in the sky. I gazed up at it longingly. I wish I was flying. Flying at night… it had always been my favourite time for flight. The cool night breeze. The sound of the silence. It was a refreshing change from Nudge's continuous complaining. A change from Angel's constant pushing of her mind to make her become leader. A couple more days of that and I'll go insane. I don't know long I can keep her away. How much longer before she goes to the next level and pushes me to the point of breaking._

"No," I whispered in horro. Anything, but this. Anything. I had pushed it withen me for so long. This couldn't be happening. Not this memory. I saw Eraser Max staring at me.

"There are other ways to make you suffer," she told me. "I can make it stop. Just let me use your body."

I wanted to say yes, but all those people were counting on me to save the world. I couldn't let them down. "No Max," I announced, "You will not win. You will never win."

"So be it." I was suddenly flung back in to the memory.

"_Max?" came a voice from behind me. Oh my god. It was Fang, what was he doing here. I took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. "You all right?"_

"_I'm fine Fang," I replied. He just stared at me._

"_Max…"_

"NO!!" I yelled and threw myself out of the memory. The scene shattered like a bullet going through a glass. I stood there panting, suspended in midair in the endless void. I stopped and stared right at my other half. I threw her one of my famous death glares. She didn't even flinch.

"So you got out. Big deal," she stated. "I'll just shove you back in."

I was past being angry. I was infuriated. I have only beat Fang once and that was when I got angry because my arm got dislocated. The familiar sense of ice cool rage pulsed through my body. "I believe it's time I threw you into a memory." With those words, I conjured the memory of the beach and kicked her in. Her memory reverberated through the darkness.

"_Nicely done Max," _approved my Voice.

"_Glad you liked it Voice," _I replied. _"I got annoyed with her so I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine."_

"_But the scene on the beach?" _he asked. _"You've suppressed it for so long."_

"_It's suppressed once again. I pulled it out, threw her in it and locked it back up," _I explained. _"Now it's a distant memory."_

"_You have to stop running Max. You will have to face them all again one day," _he advised.

"_Well until that day comes," _I retorted, _"I'll be content to live without it."_

"_Max…"_ started the Voice.

"_Trust me on this Voice," _I commented, _"I trusted you once and now it is time for you to return the favor."_

"_Favor?" _he exclaimed, _"If I remember correctly it was your idea of going to the mental institute and look at where that got us."_

"_Well it did keep us alive for four years did it?"_ I asked him sweetly.

"_Yes it did Max. Yes it did."_ I chuckled softly to myself. _"So you've forgotten everything?"_

"_Yes I have Voice. Now let me sleep."_

"_Fang," I said my voice breaking. "Just live okay? Live and be okay." With no warning, I leaned down and kissed his mouth just like that._

"_Ow," he said, touching his split lip, then he and I stared at each other in shock._

_Mortification heated my face. I glanced up to see Nudge and the Gasman gaping at me. Luckily Iggy was blind and Angel was getting Fang water. Gazzy looked from me to Fang to Iggy, clearly thinking that he was sunk now that I had obviously severed all ties with reality._

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	7. Prisoners

**A/N There are a couple of things I would like to say before I start. First of all is iluvuzuzu question about whether there will be any Fax. The answer is that there will be, but that's still coming up. The second thing I would like to say is to say thanks to MaxRideObsessed. Due to a conversation we had the other day, I thought up something really interesting that I'm going to add in later chapters. THANKS!! Also thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter VI: Prisoners

Max POV

I woke with tears streaming down my face. After so many years of repressing my memories. That memory, it came back. When was the last time I had cried? It's been so long.

"_Stop feeling sorry for yourself Max," _came the Voice, _"You did what had to be done. There was nothing else you could do."_ I just ignored him. Wiping away the tears I stood up and gazed out the tunnel. The final flickers of light faded. It was still raining, but it seemed as if it was about to stop. Unconsciously, I gazed over at Ophius making sure he was fine. What do wolfs dream about? Hunting rabbits probably. I reached in to my pocket and drew out a lighter. It was Iggy's lighter. I lit it and stared at it watching it as it flickered.

_Angel kept close to me, her small hand in mine, as we stood among the crowd. We were enogh on the edge that we avoided the sardine effect of the people closer to the stage. I think we all would have freaked out if we'd been that hemmed in, that unable to move. Iggy put the Gasman on his shoulders and gave him his lighter to him. The Gasman swayed in time with the music, holding the lighter high._

_Once he looked down at me and his face was so full of happiness I almost stared crying. How often had I seen him look like that? Like, twice? In eight years?_

The fire continued to dance as I gazed at it. I shock my head from side to side trying to clear my mind. No matter how much I hated them, the memories always changed my mind. I wanted to kill them, they had betrayed me… didn't they? Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy and Fang. They had all betrayed me… right? I snap shut the lighter and closed my eyes trying to concentrate, call on all of my hate. Hate is a dangerous thing, if one is not careful, it could consume a person. In my case, Eraser Max could take over, but she was stuck in my memories for now. I could feel the anger surge through me, it gave me new life. I stood there gazing out for a couple of seconds as the final drops of rain landed. Now it was the silence's domain. Stepping over, I prodded Ophius. When he didn't react, I pushed him with more force. Still no reaction. Curling my hand in to a fist, I punched his noise. His eyes snapped open. The next thing I know, I was on the ground with Ophius on top of me, claws drawing bllod from my throat.

"(;./" he swore, "Don't you ever do that again. I almost killed you." Getting off me, he walked over towards the exit. "How long has it stopped raining?" he asked me.

"A couple of minutes," I replied.

"We'll wait a while." Walking over, he pulled out a plastic bag with food in it. "In the meantime we'll eat."

"Shouldn't we leave?" I asked him taking a bite. "We are on a time limit here… aren't we?"

"We are," he replied, "But there's still rain on the ground and the winds still pretty strong. We'll have to wait for the rain to dry slightly. That way if we slip, we won't miss body parts." I nodded, it made sense after all.

Ophius jumped out the entrance and landed softly on his feet without making a sound. I swear he has cat's genes somewhere. Mimicking him, I jumped out and landed with an uncharacteristic thud as the wind blew against me. Stumbling, I managed to regain my balance before I lost any more dignity. Leaning heavily against the wind, I was able to walk up right. Thunder cracked above us. A bolt of lightning sparked right next to me. I jumped back startled.

"Are you sure it's safe?" I called after him. My words were snatched away from by the wind.

"It's perfectly fine, it shouldn't rain for a couple more days," came the confident response. "However I do suggest you take off any metal." His voice sounded distant and I wasn't too sure about what he had actually said.

"_What is this storm?" _I asked my Voice as seen as I probably wouldn't be able Ophius' reply.

"_It's a normal storm," _replied the Voice. As usual he was no help at all.

"_I mean why is the storm like this?" _I asked him. Thanks to my lack of concentration, I slipped and fell over just missing a puddle of water.

"_You can thank Global Warming," _he replied. _"Storms are so bad now that lightning strikes have gone up. Natural disasters are over double what they used to be in amount and intensity."_ I nodded my head and thanked him. I spent all of my concentration on following Ophius and where to place my foot. He seemed to be moving without much difficulty. At least less difficulty than I was having.

The sound of a scream rose above the howling wind. A second one joined the first. Then another and another. It was coming from my right. I glanced at Ophius. He wasn't making any move to change direction. Running low to the ground, I managed to make it to his side without any major incident.

"Did you hear them?" I yelled in his ear. He just ignored me. I grabbed a fistful of his fur and pulled him to a halt. "We have to help them!!" I screamed at him. He just gave me an icy stare. Before he had time to answer, I ran up the slope and gazed out. A long line of horses and carriages lined the road below. Unlike the others, it was still serviceable.

"We are doing no such thing," he replied. His words barely registered. The cages were filled with people. Normal human people. The were chained together and I would often see three people shoved in a single cage. A cage designed for one person. More accurately, one animal. As they passed under the ledge we rested on, I could smell an odor creeping up. I turned my head and spilled my breakfast on to the ground.

"We have to save them," I told him sternly.

"No we don't Max," he replied his voice cold and uncaring. "We will not save them and we will not save anyone on the way."

"How can you say that!!" I exclaimed. "have you seen the condition that they are in? We need to save them!!"

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again, we will not be saving them or anyone else." He started slinking away.

Running after him I tackled him to the ground. "If you don't help them, I will," I announced. "You are charged with taking me to Itex so if I go, you have to keep me a live."

He laughed a manically. "He's good," remarked a familiar voice.

"_When did you get out?" _I demanded. Laughter greeted my words.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" he asked me. "I didn't agree on that section of the deal. All I agreed on was to find you and take you to Itex. Nothing else. If you go in there I will not be coming after you Max." Turning his back to me, he walked off in to the darkness. "Good luck." The words drifted back as if it was a taunt.

"_What do you think?" _I asked my Voice.

"_If can't risk your life just save a few people." _Typical Voice reply.

"For once I agree," came my second voice. "If you get killed or captured then how will I get to torture you?" The other Max had a point. I did want revenge and the only way was to stay alive.

"_Don't listen to her Max. You do not want revenge Max. Trust me."_

"Oh go way you pesky thing."

"_Pesky thing?" _he demanded. Great my Voice was having an argument with my darker half. _"Can you believe the nerve of her Max?"_

"Go and get lost Voice. This is between the two of us," she replied testily.

"_Really. I hope you don't mind if I listen in and give advise to my client," _asked my Voice. Do they have to do this in my mind? It was getting crowded.

"What are you? A lawyer?" Is this really necessary especially at this time?

"_Yes!!"_ they yelled simultaneously. The pain was excruciating. My head was exploding. Mentally I blocked them both out. It was a skill I had learnt a couple of years ago in the mental institute. My mind was filled with an oppressive silence. That was the problem. There was a continuous buzz in my mind and that was the Voice. Whenever I pushed him out, the buzz would disappear. I guess it was a side effect, but living so long with the sound, having it disappear suddenly seemed so strange. Standing up, I ran after Ophius trying to catch up with him.

"So you finally came to your senses did you?" he asked. His yellow eyes gazing through the darkness.

"A friend of mine reminded me that I have the job of saving the world," I told him. "I can't do that if I'm dead." He nodded his head and continued on. I followed a couple feet behind trying to figure him out. I had thought that he was one of those people that would help those in need. At least that was the vibes I got from him. Looks like I was wrong. All he cared about was himself. I sighed sadly, I had such high hopes. Finally I had found some one I could call friend after such a long time and it turned out to a dud. Another betrayal.

"_Don't judge a book by its cover," _commented the Voice.

"_I thought I had locked you out?" _I asked him.

"_I can get past any guard you put up Max," _he remarked.

"_What about that buzz?" _I asked him. I still couldn't hear it. The buzz suddenly returned. I let out a breath of relief. It was strange, but I had grown accustomed to that buzz. It let me know that the Voice was near.

"Don't forget about me," chimed in Max. The other Max.

"_Go away," _I told her.

"We're here," yelled Ophius above the wind. I looked around, there were no buildings around.

"Where are we staying?" I questioned as the sun slowly rose.

"Here," he pointed with his mouth. I followed his gaze and saw a ditch in the ground. Giving a closer inspection, I realized that it actually went deeper in to the ground then it had first seemed. Not only that, but it ended in a hollow that was fairly large. Not large enough to accommodate two people. Let me rephrase that, a human and a wolf.

"Doesn't seem large enough," I remarked.

"Don't worry, it is," he replied crawling. I gazed around, there were no other safe spots around. I guess I had to sleep in there then. Crawling in, I found that it did indeed accommodate two. It was a tight fit though and I was uncomfortably close. I gazed straight in to his eyes and I could feel his hot breath on my face. To my surprise, it did smell like blood. Instead it seemed as if he had used breath freshener. A wolf using breath freshener. The thought cracked me up.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"You used breath freshener did you?" I accused him. The look on his face was all the confirmation I needed.

**A/N I almost forgot, but I've finally got my profile up for those of you that didn't know. Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	8. Battle In The Wasteland

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. I have remarked this to a few people, but I want to make it official. If you hate this story or a certain chapter or you know a way to make it better, please tell me. I promise I won't take offense. In your review, if you say you hated that chapter completely, I'll probably ignore you. But if you say that and that it was due to a certain scene and why you hated it, I'll try to alter it in some way as long as not too many people complain. Critics is what I need right now, without them I can't get any better. That doesn't mean that you can't say something good as well. Good reviews help boost up my moral.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter VII: Battle in the Wasteland

Max POV

If some one asks how long I've been walking in this god-forsaken wasteland, I will kill them. I'll even let Eraser Max have a piece of action. We've walked above ground for a long time. Longer than I had expected. There wasn't much to see though, mainly death and destruction and decay and ruins, you know the usual. Eraser Max has been silent lately and so has my Voice. Ophius is no longer talking to me thanks to our argument over the prisoners. It's been at least two weeks and absolutely nothing has happened. I think I'll die of boredom at this rate. The storm had died down yesterday so I could finally walk up right without having to be afraid of falling over. You do not know how much of a blessing that is.

Up ahead, I noticed that Ophius had stopped and was gazing out over the scenery below us which consisted of the same thing. Something in the corner of my eye made me gaze over at it. It was still ruins, but it was covered in a strange dark coating that shimmered in the moonlight.

"What's that?" I asked pointing.

"You can thank Arc for that," he responded. "It used to be the main oil route for Itex, but Arc put a stop to that." He started making his way down the hill. "They managed to sabotage a truck. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as planned." We made our way between a couple of buildings as he sniffed around. "It oil spilt on to the ground and the whole area was cornered off."

"Cornered off?" I questioned surprised. "Why?"

"It's not a smart idea to go walking through there if the enemy can just set the whole place on fire is it?" he asked me. I hate it when he's right. We continued for some distance and all the while I had the feeling that we were being followed. Glanced over my shoulder and bent down pretending to pick something up. Movement in the shadows confirmed my suspicion. We were definitely being followed.

"We are being followed," I whispered down to Ophius.

"It took you this long to figure it out?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or not.

"We'll wait for them to make the first move," I told him. "When they do, they'll think they have the element of surprise."

"We could always attack them now," he suggested.

I gave him a slight shake of my head, "If we do that, we don't know how many Erasers are following us and one of them might get away."

"True," he replied. "Patience is necessary for a hunter." He sighed sadly. "No matter how much I dislike it." A second sigh, this time he looked over at me with a sad look in his eyes. "Have I ever told you how much I hate playing opossum?" I chuckled softly at his question.

Sudden movement alerted us to their immanent attack. We shot each other a look and prepared ourselves for the onslaught. The sound of footsteps coming from behind were more than enough of a warning. Ducking low, I turned and swept with my feet at the same time. The Eraser dropped on to the ground with a splat. Standing up, I kicked him in the head cracking his neck. Turning, I had just enough time to duck under a swinging arm. Launching two quick jabs to the stomach, I followed with an uppercut making him stumble back. I lunged after him. As I sailed through the air, I could feel my left hand morph in to a claw. Needless to say, I tore out his throat and ended up in a roll. Looking up, I saw the face of an Eraser smiling down at me. Returning the smile, stabbed him through the stomach. My clawed hand coming out the other side of him. Ripping it out I grabbed his neck and used him as a shield. Bullets tore at his body, one managing to hit my right arm which was over his neck. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I managed to move the both of us behind some rubble for shelter. I glanced around and saw that Ophius was pinned down by fire as well. He seemed fine. Quickly, I searched the body of the Eraser for any weapons that I could use. All I found was a semi-automatic handgun with a full magazine and one single grenade. Tucking the gun in to my pants, I sneaked a glance over the rubble. Mentally, I took note of their position and ducked back down before they had a chance to blow my head off. I only had one chance at this. I took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. Once they were sufficiently calm, I lobbed it over the rubble. A total blind shot. Slowly I counted to three and an explosion rocked the ground. After a couple of seconds, I lifted the body of the dead Eraser and lifted it up so that his head stuck up above the rubble. When no bullets came to claim his head, I was sufficiently certain that they were all dead. I stood up slowly ready to throw myself back on to the ground if necessary. All of the Erasers shooting at us before were dead. I was suddenly tackled on to the ground. Startled, I looked up, but I didn't see anything. Ghosts. How many I don't know, but I do know I was going to die. A hand grasped my throat and I slowly felt the world around me starting to blur. The last thing I noticed was a gray shape throwing itself at the Ghost.

I slowly came back to the world of the living. The slimy tongue washing my face may have had something to do with bring me back so soon through.

"You okay?" he asked me concerned. I nodded my head opening my eyes slowly. "That's good to see." All I could do was stare at him in surprise. He had three long gashes on the right side of his face. It went over his eye.

"Can you see?" I asked him.

"It's not as great as my left eye, but it's good enough," he replied with a shrug. I reached up and touched it, tracing it lightly with a finger. "What happened?" I asked him.

"I missed an Eraser and he managed to catch me," he responded. "He's dead now." Gesturing with his snot. I turned to look and immediately regretted it. The body was mauled beyond recognition. If someone told me that had been an Eraser I would have taken him for being crazy. I would describe it, but lets just say I have wiped it permanently from my memory. All you need to know was that it was slaughter.

"You can really hold a grudge you know that?" I asked him. **Note to self: Do not get Ophiuchus angry.**

"Hey I could have been blinded for life," he remarked. "Crap!! Cars."

"How far away are they?" I asked him.

"A couple of minutes. Five tops," he reported. There wasn't enough time. I don't know how many there are, but we were both tired.

"We have to get out of here," I told him.

"You think I don't know that?" he demanded. I searched around for somewhere we could hide, but there were only one building and the rest was all high way. This was not good. I looked all around me searching for an answer. Something clicked inside my mind and I had the answer. It was suicidal though. And it was the only way out. Getting up, I started running. Footsteps quickly followed mine.

"Where are we going?" asked Ophius. I just pointed in front of me. Straight at the cesspool of darkness. "You've got to be joking."

"It's the only way," I told him. "It's our only hope."

"They'll set it on fire you know and there is no way we can out run fire," he commented.

"Not if we set it on fire first," I replied.

"What!?!" he exclaimed. "WE can not out run fire Max!!"

"Yes we can," I replied, "Just leave everything to me."

"Okay, even if we could out run it, there's nothing we can use to set it on fire with," he added. I simply pulled out the lighter from my pocket and showed it to him. His eyes widened in surprise, then they narrowed with determination. "A suicidal plan," he remarked out loud. "Fang warned me of these, but I didn't take him seriously." Fang? Did he just say Fang? He knew Fang?

"You know Fang?" I asked him.

"Oops," he answered. "I did not just say that." The sound of the truck grew louder as it raced to catch up with us. "We've got one minute tops." He turned and looked at our destination. "And that is going to take longer than one minute."

"Can you out run it?" I asked him.

"I think so, but not for long," he replied uncertain.

"I want you to out run it."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep up," I told him. He still looked doubtful. Sigh. "Just do it," I commanded him. He nodded and took off. I whistled in surprise. Man was he fast. Opening my wings, I took off for the first time in years. Streamlining my body, I activated my skill partially so that I flew at the approximate speed Ophius was going. Once I caught up with him, he was waiting for me. Landing on the ground, I lit the lighter.

"Ready?" I asked him. He nodded his head. I bent down and set the ground on fire. I didn't want to get rid of the lighter just yet. Turning, I opened my wings and started flying. The fire spread in a wide arc and cut off the pursuers from us. Good thing they did have Flying Erasers. I searched around for Ophius and saw him running as fast as he could, but the fire was still gaining. Dropping down, I gathered him up in my arms and placed all the power I had in to my speed. The ground below us suddenly flashed by. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed that even going at the speed that I was, it was still gaining slightly. Our only hope was to get past the edge of the oil. Pushing past the limit, I added a couple more miles on to my speed. The ground flew by at a dizzying rate.

Exhausted, I crashed on to the ground panting for breath. I had pushed myself over the limit and I was going to pay dearly for it. The last time I went at max speed, my wings felt as if they had been pulled off.

"You okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah," I replied. "Nothing a couple hours of rest won't cure." He looked over my shoulder. Following his gaze, I saw that the whole section was on fire. There was no way anything could go through. At least no living thing.

"We'll have to go around," he remarked.

"Around?" I asked surprised.

"The fire," he answered. "We were meant to go that way." He gestured to the west, past the howling fire. "We'll have to go that around now."

"There's no tunnel?" I asked him. He shook his head sadly. "How much longer will it take?"

"A couple of weeks."

I nodded my head. "We better get started then." Looking over my shoulder at the flames, I saw a figure staring straight at me. The second to last person I wanted to see alive. Iggy. He had betrayed the Flock and joined Itex. I don't know why as I wasn't around at the time, but it had happened. He just gave me a thumbs up and when the fire passed in front of him, he vanished.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	9. A Different View

**A/N Remember what I said at the beginning of the last chapter? Well it's even more important this chapter I'm trying something new this chapter so tell me if you like it or not. I would also like to say thanks to Internet Weaver, ever since his review of the Prologue, I've been trying to convince him that it was possible. Since then I've kept in contact and all that's done is allowed for more hole poking. Thanks Internet Weaver. What I'm trying to say is that I have now rethought parts of future chapters so that it all makes sense. I think. Internet Weaver has done exactly what I want people to do, poke holes. The one that was chosen though was so big, you could fit an elephant though it. Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter VIII: A Different View

Total POV

We sat in the tunnel watching as the sun slowly submerged itself. I leaned towards Angel's fingers as she scratched behind my ears. My tail wagged happily, she always knew exactly where to scratch. Both Nudge and Gazzy were lying on the ground asleep.

"I wish Max was still here," she remarked. I lifted my head and looked at her. She had been deeply depressed ever since Max had left. When Fang and Iggy left, it only made things harder. The weight of responsibility was on her shoulders now. Usually it was the oldest person who took over, but Angel was better qualified.

"Why?" I asked her. "You're doing fine as it is Angel."

"I never wanted Max to die Total," she told me. "All I wanted to be was leader for a while. I was sure I could take care of everyone better than her." He voice sounded so sad. Lifting my head, I licked her cheek trying to cheer her up. "Thanks for trying," she remarked.

"You're doing fine Angel," I repeated myself. I hated seeing her like this. She was only ten, she should be happy. Even Max only stared leading when she was twelve and that was only stuff around the house.

"If I knew how stressful being leader was I wouldn't have bugged her so much." Silence followed her comments. "I even tried to make her make me leader," she continued in a quite voice. I stared at her in surprise. This was the first time I heard of this.

"Do the others know?" I asked her nervously. She shook her head. "What made you do such a thing?"

"She was leader and wouldn't let me try out. All I wanted was a day to see what it felt like and she never allowed it," she replied. "I didn't know what else to do."

"Angel," I told her kindly. "You must have known that everything Max does, she does for a reason."

"I know that, but at the time…" her voice trailed off.

"It's okay Angel," I whispered in her ear. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Thanks Total," she responded, "I don't know what would happen if I didn't have you." We sat at the entrance as the final wisps of light died out. Standing up, she walked over and woke everyone up. They mumbled a couple of protests, but on the whole they we awake. Watching her deal with them made me smile inwardly. She reminded me so much of Max. Sure I had only been with them for a couple of months before everything fell apart, but I had gotten to know everyone. Her actions reminded me so much of Max. She dealt with them in exactly the same way. Max would be proud.

"Are you proud?" I asked quietly so they wouldn't hear me. "Are you proud of what Angel's become Max?" As usual, there was no answer. Sighing, I stood up and over towards the fire that Gazzy had started.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I don't know," came Angel's reply. Everyone just stared at her.

"What do you mean you don't know?" demanded Gazzy.

"I just don't know Gazzy," she replied.

"What if we continue west?" asked Nudge. "We're bound to get somewhere."

"I've been thinking lately," started Angel. Everyone turned and looked at her waiting her next few words. "That we should get in touch with Arc."

"Arc?" echoed us all.

She nodded her head. "We can't take on Itex and we can't run for ever." She looked of in to the distance. "We might as well."

"Makes sense," approved Nudge.

"Got nothing to lose," added Gazzy.

"Where do we go?" I asked her.

She seemed uncomfortable. "That's the problem. I have no idea where they're located." We sat silently around the fire, each lost in their own thoughts. That was a dilemma, none of us knows where Arc was located.

"There's no pointing sitting around wandering," I stated out loud. "We might as well keep on moving." Everyone agreed.

"We need to stock up on food," announced Nudge. She was the best cook we had left after Iggy left.

"We'll have to stop by a supermarket then and hope that the food is still edible," commented Angel.

"Didn't we pass one just yesterday?" asked Gazzy.

"I think so," I replied. "It was just pass the building."

"You mean that place that was swarming with Erasers?" asked Angel. We both nodded. "Looks like we have to go back then."

"Wait a second you guys," yelled Nudge picking up an envelope. Opening it, she read the contents then passed it over to Angel her eyes wide.

"What is it?" I demanded jumping up and down trying to see what it was they were read. "Come on tell me!! What does it say!!" Angel complied by knelling down so that I could read it as well.

_Dear Angel, Gazzy, Nudge and Total_

_To reach Arc travel east. Stop once it looks like fun. From there enter the building and search for an old friend. She will lead the way over the rainbow. Vegetarianism is extremely healthy._

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"The first section is easy enough. We have to travel east," stated Angel.

"Which is where we came from," added Gazzy a trifle sour.

"Can we trust it?" I asked Angel.

"Nudge?" she questioned. Stepping over, Nudge touched the paper.

"I'm getting sadness, whoever wrote this knew us and was sad. I can sense no malice what so ever and there's no fear," she stated. "It's legit, they want to help."

"What does fear have to do with anything?" asked Gazzy.

"Duress," she replied. "The writer was no forced in to this."

"Looks like we're traveling back east." Standing up, Angel started walking. Picking up or packs, we followed.

Stop when it looks like fun. That phrase sounded so familiar. I'm sure some one said that once, but when? Stop when it looks like fun. That sounded so familiar.

"We'll rest here," announced Angel pointing towards a building. I eyed it critically, it seemed safe, but looks can be deceiving. Unconvinced, I looked around for another building. A sign immediately caught my eye.

The sign said AFO Schmidt.

The worlds most amazing toy store.

It was then that I remembered Max telling me that they went here because the Voice had said something about fun. Talk about coincidence. "I think we should stay here," I called out. Everyone turned and looked over.

"You've got to be kidding," remarked Nudge.

"Stop when it looks like fun," quoted Gazzy.

"I should have known," sighed Angel sadly. I just knew she was thinking about Max again. This was when she started using we mind control skills. I strolled over and nudged her slightly giving her a concerned look.

"Thanks." She scratched behind my ear making my tail wag. Walking beside me, we entered the building together. Right inside the door was a giant two-story clock. Figures stood on it, but was frozen by the cobwebs that suffocated it. The walls were run down and there were spiders everywhere. All of the toys were stuck down and half the shelves were demolished. It was closer to a haunted house than anything else.

"This doesn't look fun," commented Nudge.

"This place is so wasted," added Gazzy.

"We're meant to be looking for an old friend," reminded Angel. "Lets split up and look. We'll meet back here in a ten of minutes. Every one nodded. It was decided that we would travel in pairs, Gazzy and Nudge, Angle and me. Just in case we ran into any difficulties. The searched the toy story from top to bottom with no clue of what we were looking for. Toys lined everywhere and were scattered on the ground.

"Search for an old friend," she quoted over and over. It was driving me insane. Finally we reached the teddy bear section. Wait a second, teddy bear.

"Angel," I exclaimed.

"What?" she asked.

"Where did you find Celeste?" I questioned.

Understanding flooded in to her eyes. Standing up, she started running through the aisles at an incredible speed. Skidding to a stop, she pointed. Celeste lay on the floor.

"Looks like we solved that mystery," I commented.

"We have to make our back and tell them what we found," she stated. I nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure?" asked Nudge concerned. "That doesn't look like Celeste."

"It looks like a giant fur ball," suggested Gazzy. Angel promptly hit him on the shoulder. "You need to work on your anger issues."

"Trust me, it is Celeste," she told them. "What does the next part say?" she asked.

Gazzy pulled out the letter and read the next line. "She will lead you over the rainbow." Silence. "What a load of rubbish!!" he yelled. "How the hell is a bear supposed to lead the way?"

Angel and Nudge rushed over to calm him. A familiar scent drifted to my nose. Placing my nose to the ground, I started sniffing. Following the trail, it lead straight to the bear. To be more accurate, it lead under the table the bear was on. Poking my head under the table cloth, I got a whiff of the dust. I settled on to my hunches and started sneezing violently.

"You alright?" asked Nudge concerned.

"There's a hole," I replied between sneezes. Immediately, everyone scrambled across and peered down.

"She will lead the way," quoted Angel.

"Over the rainbow," I finished for her.

"I thought one had to go over the rainbow, not under it," commented Nudge.

"But a pot of gold is found under it," added Gazzy.

"I'm going down," I told them. Without waiting for an answer, I jumped down and looked around. It was a sewage system.

"What's down there?" yelled Angel. Her voice echoing off all of the walls.

"It's a sewage system," I called back up. "I think this is where we're meant to go."

Three soft slashes sounded behind me.

"Ewww," commented Nudge. "You could have warned me." She shook her leg trying to get off the water. "That is disgusting."

"Your complaining?" demanded Gazzy who had unfortunately landed wrong and was currently sitting in sewage water. "I'm practically swimming in it." This prompted laughs from everyone. Inwardly I smiled. It's been so long since I've seen them all laugh. It was as if all past events had been erased for those last couple of seconds.

"Which direction do we go in?" asked Nudge looking behind her.

"Vegetarianism is extremely healthy," I quoted. Silence descended as we tried to figure out what it meant.

"I think I've gotten it," remarked Nudge slowly. Everyone turned to her. Standing up, she pointed to and odd indentation on the wall. "What does that look like to you?" she asked us. We all trotted over to get a better look. Everyone looked at it except me, but that was because I was too short.

"What is it?" I demanded crossly. I hate being short.

"A hawk," replied Nudge. Everyone nodded.

"So we're meant to go the opposite direction of the hawk," announced Angel.

"I think not," she replied, "Whoever wrote the letter knows a lot about us, how else could he know about Celeste and the toy store. Therefore, we have to go in the direction of the hawk."

"That makes no sense," argued Angel. "Hawks aren't herbivores."

"They're not herbivores, but Nudge became a vegetarian after meeting the hawks," answered Gazzy, "Right?" She nodded her head.

"Looks like we travel in the direction of the hawks then," sighed Angel. "We've got no time to waste. We better hurry."

Everyone nodded their head and raced down the tunnel. Water splashing everywhere.

**A/N I almost forgot, I've got a research assignment due in two weeks and it is worth a lot. I'll try to update every week though, but I can't make any promises. Reviews would be nice.**


	10. Pot of Gold

A/N I would like to thank iluvzuzu and Anony (Please tell me your name so I can properly thank you) for noticing that it was Hawks not Eagles. For those of you who have bothered to either review my current story or have added me to their Favorites or Alerts, I've finally gotten around to reviewing all of your stories. It took a while, but I've finally done it. Think of it as my way of thanking you. Also thanks for all reviewers. 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter IX: Pot of Gold

Total POV

Our footsteps echoed through the tunnel. We used the eagles to guide us through the forks and twists of the underground maze. Everything was silent, there were no other sounds. Only our steps and our breathing. A familiar smell reached my nose. It smelled of wet dog with a slight acidic tint to it. Ghosts. I stooped in my tracks and growled softly. Everyone started gathering around. The all looked at me waiting for my announcement.

"Ghosts," I told them simply.

"Erasers?" asked Angel. I simply shook my head. "How many?"

"Don't know," I replied. Gazzy reached in to his pockets and bought out a bomb and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think that will be necessary," replied Angel. "Nudge?"

Together, the two girls started walking around the corner. "Why do they always get the fun?" he asked me.

"How am I supposed to know," I replied. "It was the same with Max." I immediately regretted mentioning her.

"Max," he echoed looking off in to the distance. Probably remembering forgotten memories. "We never should have driven her away." He sounded so sad.

"What do you mean?" I asked him confused.

"I was the one that suggested that Angel use her powers to gain leadership," he replied sadly. At my look, he hurriedly continued. "It's not that I don't like Max, it's just." The sound of footsteps fall stalled the rest of his sentence.

"That was quick," I commented out loud pretending nothing had happened.

"There were only two of them," replied Nudge a grin on her face. That girl, she had to be talking or moving for her to be happy. After Max had left though, she seemed much more subdued. Not as talkative or hyper.

Stretching, we continued along the tunnel.

We followed the eagles until we came to a dead end.

"What now?" asked Gazzy. "We followed the eagles."

"I don't know. There should be another tunnel or something," replied Angel.

"We could have read the clue wrong or something," suggested Gazzy.

"It does seem likely, but the reasoning was flawless." Go Angel. She could both criticize and defend at the same person. She admitted that Nudge could be wrong and that we had reason to do what we did at the same time. "We might as well rest here for a today."

"I'll take first watch," volunteered Gazzy knowing perfectly well that both Angel and Nudge would be tired from the fight before. They nodded their thanks and immediately fell asleep. Walking over, curled up next to Angel.

"I haven't forgotten or conversation Gazzy," I remarked without opening an eyelid. "You might as well finish what you were going to say."

"Warn me next time," he muttered under his breath. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry," I apologized. Walking over, I sat down next to him. "So why did you tall Angel to mind control Max?"

"She just wouldn't let Angel become leader." Gazzy threw a stone against the wall. "Max could have at least let Angel try out." A second stone with more force this time. "Don't get me wrong, Max was a good leader, she looked after us all, but when she wouldn't let Angel try out it seemed as if she wanted all of the powers to herself." This time he punched the wall next to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. "I'm sorry," he moaned burring his face in my fur. Unconsciously I placed a paw on his shoulder and tried to soothe him. "I never meant for Max to die. All I wanted was for Angel to get a chance at being leader. That was all I wanted." He continued to sob on me and I held him close as any good parent would have done. Me, a parent. The thought made me chuckle softly to myself. I never thought of myself in that position before, but when you think about it, that was exactly where I found myself. Sitting here, a crying Gazzy in my arms. When was the last time I had seem him cry? He always tried to act so tough, but he wasn't. He was still a kid like Angel and Nudge.

"Take the rest of the shift off," I told him once he had finished crying. "I'll take the rest of it for you."

"It's all right," came his immediate response. "I'll can take it."

"Are you sure?" I asked him concerned. He didn't seem to be in shape.

"I'm fine." He sounded annoyed.

"I hope you don't mind if may you company then," I retorted. He shot me a glance, but had no choice, but to comply.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Nudge the next morning. Strangely, it was her first words and not the customary I'm hungry. "And I'm hungry," she added. So much for that then.

"We'll search around for some clues and if nothing turns up, the we'll leave," announced Angel. If only Max was here, she would be so proud. We continued searching around the area to no avail. I even sniffed along the ground trying to find a scent of some kind. Turning, I bumped in to Gazzy throwing him in to the sewage water.

"You all right?" I asked him calling over the edge.

When he resurfaced he ignored me and looked at Angel. "I found where we're supposed to go," he announced.

"What!!" everyone yelled. Our voices echoes back making us clutch our ears in pain.

"Where?" asked Angel in a lower voice.

"We're still on the rainbow," he replied ambiguously. His remark made us freeze for a couple of seconds.

"You mean we have to go further down?" asked Nudge finally getting it.

"Yep," he replied. "There's a tunnel below me."

"You mean we have to swim through that?" exclaimed Nudge. "You're gonna have to kill me first." She leaning at a dangerous angel over the water peering at it. It was too good a chance to miss. Leaping forwards, I hit her in the back. There was a splash then a lot of yelling. Most of it was directed at me. And most of it can't be repeated. I tucked a few away for future references. Who knew Nudge has such a foul mouth?

"How are meant to breathe underwater?" demanded Nudge once she and crawled back out. "We don't know how long the tunnel is."

"We can use these," came Gazzy's voice from the other side. Lying next to him were a couple of scuba gears, mainly a facemask and the oxygen tanks.

"Whoever set this up is good, really good," commented Angel out loud. "I wonder who set it up."

"Does it matter?" I asked her. "What matters is the whether one will fit me or not." Gazzy held up a suite that was smaller than the rest and had special attachments.

"That answer you question?" he questioned.

I replied with a bark. Jumping in to the water, I started swimming across towards him. Climbing on to the ledge on the over side, I started shaking all of the water out of my fur.

"Hey!!" complained Gazzy, "I'm just starting to dry off."

"Just put the gear so we can get on with it," I told him.

"You now something Total, you sound a lot like Max," he stated. I just shot him a look. Sighing sadly, he complied with my wishes. It took a couple of minutes for him to strap everything on me, but once he was done, I jumped in to the water and submerged under the water. It was murky. Really, really murky. It was like swimming through mist, I couldn't see my own paws in front of my face. Touching the bottom, I looked around for the tunnel. It took a couple of minutes, but I finally located it. Peering over the edge, I started exploring. I took turn after turn and when I was positive that no one could swim so far without running out of their breath, I started making my way home. There was just enough room for me to change direction. Slowly I made my way back to the surface.

I do not know what Angel said, but with her face inches from mine and that murderous look on her face I reared back surprised. I had not expected her to be waiting at the entrance. I gestured with my snot and went back in. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that everyone was following my lead. I made my way back through the tunnels. After what seemed like an eternity which was probably only a couple of minutes, we finally broke the surface. Swimming over to the ledge, I climbed out. Or at least I tried to climb out. The ledge was too high for me to reach so in the end Angel had to drag me out.

"You way a ton," she remarked. "What have you been eating?"

"The same thing you have," I replied.

"Where are we?" asked Nudge after she had surveyed her surroundings.

"I've got no idea," admitted Angel. "I guess we follow eagles then."

"What eagles?" asked Gazzy. "I've searched around and I don't see any eagles."

"What does the letter say?" I asked him. "Maybe there's something that we've missed."

"To reach Arc travel east. Stop once it looks like fun. From there enter the building and search for an old friend. She will lead the way over the rainbow. Vegetarianism is extremely healthy," quoted Gazzy.

"To reach Arc travel east," I echoed.

"Been there done that," remarked Nudge.

"Stop once it looks like fun," I continued.

"The AFO toy store," added Angel.

"Enter the old building and search for an old friend." This was getting tiresome.

"Celeste," prompted Gazzy.

"She will lead the way over the rainbow." Silence.

"We never went over a rainbow," commented Nudge.

"Actually we did," I replied. "If you think about it, the sewage system was the rainbow. The tunnel we just went through was the gold under the rainbow."

"Vegetarianism is really healthy," finished Angel.

"That would be the eagles," remarked Gazzy. "Nudge only became a vegetarian after the hawk thing at the lake."

"What was the lake called?" asked Angel suddenly. Everyone just stared at her in surprise. It was so obvious and yet none of us had figured it out.

"I think it was Badwater Basin," announced Nudge. "Or something like that. I can't exactly remember."

"Badwater Basin," mused Angel. "Is there some sort of letter written on the corridors?" We went over and took a look. On each of the corridors, a letter was inscribed. A, H and B.

"I guess we go through gate B then," announced Gazzy. Everyone nodded their heads.

"N's over here," yelled an exhausted Angel. Together we made our weary way down the tunnel. I've got no idea how long I was stuck in this god forsaken place, but it was well over a week.

"Look a light!!" exclaimed Nudge who was out front. Startled, I looked up. There was indeed a light. Picking up the pace, I started running towards it barking with pleasure. I standing at the exit, I surveyed the scenery.

"I never thought I would be pleased to see this place," commented Gazzy out loud. "It still seems so desolate though."

"Glad you could make it," announced a quiet voice. That voice. I knew that voice. I racked my memory trying to remember who it belonged to, but the face eluded me. His scent was disguised with sewage. "I've got a message for you. Listen well and remember it." I tried to turn around, but an unseen force clamped me in place. "Listen well and remember. Wait here for three days." We stood still waiting for the next few lines. When they didn't come we looked at each other in surprise. It was only then that I realized that I could move. Turning around, whoever was talking to us before had disappeared.

"What was that about?" asked Nudge.

"Who was that?" questioned Gazzy at the same time.

"Angel?" I asked.

"He was thinking of different mixed up numbers. Not only that, but fractions were included," she replied sheepishly. "I couldn't get into his mind without getting confused." It was a small fact we had discovered over the years. Mixed numbers strung together confused Angel and stopped her from reading minds. At least that particular mind. The fractions were a stroke of pure genius though.

"Guess we wait for three days then," mused Nudge. We all nodded our heads in agreement.

**A/N Reviews would be nice. If I missed anybody out in my reviewing spree, please tell me.**


	11. Interlude

A/N I really should be writing the Research Assignment right now, but you know what? I just can't be screwed, so sue me. Once again I have a special thank you for BlackIceAngel for noticing the grammar mistakes and I've taken the advice so now I'm going through the chapters more carefully. Thanks to all reviewers 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter X: Interlude

Max POV

The fire behind us still hadn't died down when it disappeared from sight. It was till burning bright and would continue to burn for many more days. Or so Orphius told me. Nothing happened for the last couple of days and Iggy never came after us. Iggy. Was he even there? Had I imagined everything? So many questions.

"_Stop thinking so much Max," _suggested my Voice. _"Everything will work out in the end." _I was surprised, this was the first time in the last week that the Voice had talked to me. _"Just concentrate on saving the world, that is your destiny after all."_

Don't you just hate it when the Voice in your head is right?

"_Tsk, tsk. Just get to Arc and everything will become clear," _announced my Voice.

"_Could you stop reading my mind?" _I demanded.

"_I'm sorry Max, but I'm inside you and I can't do anything to change it." _I continued walking ignoring it. _"Do you know how much you keep from yourself?" _Maybe if I ignore for long enough, he would go away. _That's not very nice Max. I thought we're friends now."_

"_What about Eraser Max?" _Hopefully he won't notice the change in conversation.

"_She's behaving herself right now," _came the reply._ "Like a good little girl."_

"I can hear you," came an annoyed reply. "I am not a good little girl and you better remember it."

"_I guess a little peace and silence is too much to ask for?" _I questioned. The pressure inside my skull increased slightly as Eraser Max and my Voice started arguing and I sighed. One voice was enough, two voices were getting crowded. Two voices fighting are just too much for anyone to handle. Can't they ever get along?

"Max?" asked a timid voice of Ophius at my side. Strange, Ophius is never timid.

"Yeah?" I asked him.

"Is it alright if I make a slight detour?" he asked. "There's something I need to do."

"How long will it take?" I replied. I really did not want to waste too much time. We were almost there.

"Just a couple of minutes," came the immediate answer. "It won't take long."

I nodded my head taking in the information. "Guess it'll be alright then." He let out the breath he had been holding. Ophius was nervous? That did not make sense in anyway. He turned and started moving slightly more to the west than originally. I followed slowly behind him.

He stopped in front of an old abandoned warehouse. The walls were gray and covered in cobwebs like everything around us. The glass were still in place and had not shattered which was unusual as seen as every building and at least one broken window and yet this had none. The front doors were nice and polished. They seemed almost as if they were new. The path leading up was washed and I swear I could smell soap, but it was extremely faint. Iggy might be able to smell it though.

"What is this place?" I demanded. Ophius didn't bother answering, instead he pushed open the door and walked in.

The walls were all scrubbed and cleaned. They were painted in a fluorescent shade of blue. There was a kitchen in one corner, a bed in another. At the very front there was some sort of alter. Upon it was a cross, similar to the ones found in churches. It was pure white and radiated its own unique glow. I can't really put my finger on it, but it was special in some way. The floor in front of it was a panel of stained glass. Pictured on it was a gray wolf very much like himself standing sideways. Behind him were two people. One was an Eraser with a pair of wings carved in to his back. He was completely morphed and had coarse gray fur, almost black, really similar to Ari's and he was gazing to one side. The other was standing with her back to the Eraser. She had brown white and black speckled wings and long flowing hair. She was an almost perfect immage of me. I surveyed the rest of my surrondings. Despite the fact that we were on the run, this place sung out to me. I was getting the same vibs I got the last time I was in a church.

_The six of us walked silently down the cool marble-tile floor toward the huge white altar at the front of the church. Nudge's mouth was wide open, her head craned back as she stared at the snlight filtering through all the stained-glass windows. Above us the ceiling was three stroies high and all arched and carved like a palace._

"_This place is awesome," breathed the Gasman and I nodded. I felt good in here, safe, even though Erasers or cops could stroll through the doors like anybody else. But it was enormous inside and crowded and yet there was good visibility. Not a bad place at all. A good place._

Slwoly, I moved towards the altar. I could feel Ophius's eyes on me as I made my way towards it. I stopped just before standing on the stained glass of the two people and the wolf. So close, I could feel an evil raising from the Eraser and yet a calming effect from the angel at the other side. The one that looked like me. I glanced over for permission. A slight nod indicated that it was alright. Slowly, I stepped on the the glass, but only the one the right side. Something about the Eraser repelled me. Standing on the tile, I knelled down and closed my eyes. What had I prayed for last time?

"_Please help Angel about Celeste," I found myself muttering and realised I had closed my eyes. I had no idea who I was talking to, I'd never really thought about if I believed in God. Would God have let the Whitecoats at the School do what they had done to us? How did it work exactly?_

_But I was on a roll now so I went with it. "And help me be a better leader, a better person," I said, moving my lips with no sound. Make me braver, stronger. smarter. Help me take care of the Flock. Help me find answers. Uh, thanks."_

Thinking back, I couldn't help, but laugh. Help me take care of the Flock. That was what I said when I prayed to God. Flock, what Flock!! I had ditched them. Ditched them all!! Why should I care about them when all they ever wanted was for Angel to be leader? I almost lost my sanity due to them.

"_What about Fang?" _asked my Voice. I guess he was trying to make me see clearly, but it didn't help.

"_He attacked me when I was at my weakest!!" _I screamed at him. _"I had enough troubles, he just made it worse!!"_

"Max?" prodded Ophius. His voice brought me back to reality. Settling down on to my knees, I started praying.

"Please help me save the world," I found myself starting. Why am I even bothering? "Help me save it for all of the people, for the environment. People don't have the right to be treated like animals." I chuckled slightly at the irony. "Isn't it true that God created everything? I guess you want humans wiped out then, after all we are killing the world. We are killing what you created." I shook my head sadly. "I suppose the world would live longer without us. You probably want us dead." How did my prayer turn in to something like this? "I guess that's all for now."

I stood up and searched around for Ophius. He was never to be found though. It was only after a couple of seconds that I realised that he was lying next to me with his eyes closed. His mouth moved silently as he made is own prayer.

"What is this place?" I asked him once he had finished.

"This is my home Max," he replied his voice distant. "This is where I live. This is my home." He must have seen my shocked expression. "Surprised?"

I quickly erasered the shock from my face. "What about the painting?" I asked him pointing down.

"A friend painted that for me," he replied. Something in his voice made me studied him under my gaze. There was something different about his tone of voice. He seemed more relax than he ever had since my time with him. Not only that, but he seemed more open.

"They look a lot like me and some one I know," I enquired.

"The painter knew who you were," he replied voice a bit strained.

That majorly shocked me. The painter knew who I was? "Who was he?" I questioned.

Ophius looked away, uncormfortable. After a couple of seconds he repied in a quiet voice, "I promised I wouldn't tell."

I nodded my head, I understood him. There were somethings in my past I wasn't ready to talk about yet either. A lot of things.

"_You need to let them out Max," _suggested my voice.

"_Go away," _I ordered. "Shouldn't we leave now?" I asked outloud. "We're almost to Arc."

He nodded his head and walked right up to the altar. "Goodbye mother," he whispered. "I'll be back so don't worry about me." With that he turned and left. His mother was dead? He lived with the remains of his mother in his house? Why didn't he tell me? I would have stayed here longer. This was the place his mother rested after all.

Laughter ran out through the house. Startled I looked down at Ophius, he was laughing his head off. "Why am I even bother?" he asked outloud. "Your dead." His voice took on a softer tone. "I never said this mother, but I forgive you. I forgive what you did to me." His tone changed again. "I hope you can find room in you to forgive the way I treated you."

The way he spoke reminded me of the same instranglement with Jeb. I never stuck around to find out the truth, whether it was about Ari being my brother of Jeb being my father. Truth be told, I didn't want to know the truth. Thinking about Ari being my brother made my skin crawl and just mention me and Jeb being related made me want to puke. It was disgusting.

"_You killed your own brother!!"_

His cry echoed in my mind. It was one of the many things that keep's myself awake at night.

Total POV

"Something's going on," yelled Nudge from the entrance. Exchanging a glance with Angel, we ran as fast as we could.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

"You know the place that's covered in oil?" asked Nudge.

"Yeah," I replied.

Nudge simply pointed off in to the distance and I saw that the place was set on fire. It raged all around consuming everything. It was a giant beacon. It light up the whole sky.

"Who was stupid enough to go in there?" pondered Gazzy out loud.

"Whoever it was, I hope they got out okay." She paused for a couple of seconds. "Even the Erasers." I nodded my approval, she was right. Death by fire was a terrible thing to inflict on some one, even I couldn't wish that fate for an Eraser.

"Look at all of the pretty birds," remarked a voice from behind us. Startled, we turned around and saw Max. Max was alive? Something about her made me look closer though.

"Max?" asked Gazzy amazed, "We thought you were dead."

She just smiled at his words. "I am going to enjoy this. I'm going to enjoy it a lot," she stated. Enjoy what? There was something definitely strange about her. Something didn't fit, but what?

"Gazzy get back," ordered Angel.

"But…"

"Listen to me Gazzy, get back," she repeated herself. "Something is strange here." She shot Max a glance. "Something isn't right."

Gazzy looked from Angel to Max. I could see the bewilderment on his face. In the end, he decided to listen to his sister and moved back.

"All these pretty birdies," Max echoed. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Stop dragging it along and get on with it," barked a familiar voice. Stepping out from behind her was Ari completely morphed. "Surprised?"

"Ari," I growled, "That would mean the Max standing next to you is none other than Max II."

Ari laughed out loud. "Poor deluded dog," he replied airily. "Go back and play with the other mutts," he snarled.

"Max?" asked Nudge scared. No reply. "Angel?"

"You know the drill," she replied. We all nodded our heads. Gazzy slipped his hand in to his pocket where the bombs were kept. We had to use them sparingly as seen as it was harder to gain the components necessary.

"Don't even try it," whispered Max. Startled we all glanced up at her. She smiled and it sent shivers up my spine. This was definitely not Max. "Look behind you."

Angel nodded her head and I turned around slowly and took a glance behind us. The entrance was filled up with Erasers. Not only that, but I could smell Ghosts.

"This is not good," I reported. "There are a dozen Erasers and who knows how many Ghosts."

"You have two choices. You can come with us quietly or we can take you there by force," announced Max II.

"And you know how messy fights can be," added Ari looking at his claws. "We might just hurt one you too badly to take with us." He looked at each of us. Then his mouth parted in a soul reaping smile. "We might just have to leave you outside." Angel noticeably paled under her tan.

Nodding her head she made the gesture for us to relax. "We'll go peacefully," she told him. Even though her voice was calm, I could tell she was afraid. Yet she didn't show it in front of Ari. Max would be proud.

**A/N Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	12. Escape

**A/N There is some slight POV change this chapter. I'll try not to make it a habit, but it was necessary . . . at least I think it was necessary, if however you want more POV change please tell me in your reviews. Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XI: Escape.

"_You know you shouldn't be here," commented the first voice. Strange, that voice sounded familiar. I should know it, but I don't._

"_I know that," replied the second. "But something's come up." That voice. It seemed to stir a long forgotten memory. It was just outside my grasp._

"_What," growled the first._

"_They've been caught." Caught? Who's been caught?_

"_What!!" Dimly I could here a rock being thrown._

"_You heard me," replied the other voice. That voice, his name, his face._

"_You should have kept an eye out for them," accused the first. "You knew something like this was going to happen. You should have. . ."_

"_I know what I should have done," came the snarling reply. "I sent in a full squad of in to meet up with them, but they traveled faster than I thought so they had to wait for the squad to appear."_

"_How long?" explored the first voice._

"_Three days." It was mumbled. There was something about those two voices. I know I should know them, but I didn't. Their faces were blurred. They were erased from my memory._

"_THREE DAYS!!" yelled the first. "You should have seen this coming."_

"_I didn't know they would take so quick," voiced the second. "It took them just under a week to get through the tunnel."_

"_Under a week?" he/she sounded surprised. No, it was a he, something about his voice told me that._

"_Yeah."_

"_Then what about the squad?" came the question. "They should have been able to keep them safe."_

"_Ari managed to reach them before hand and laid a trap," answered the second voice. The sound of Ari's name sent anger flashing through my body. Ari. One day I would kill that son of a !&#._

"_You should have seen this coming," admonished the first voice._

"_Well I didn't," came the tart reply. "It's not my special ability you know. It's yours."_

"_It doesn't matter," replied the first. "What does matter is what you plan to do to remedy this situation." There was a couple seconds of silence. "You've got to be joking."_

"_Does it look like I'm joking?" asked the second voice._

"_Have I ever seen you joke?" responded the first._

"_No you haven't," came the immediate reply. His voice suddenly took a distant tone, "Only one person has ever heard me joke around."_

"_She better not hear you saying that," came a chuckle. His tone suddenly turned serious, "You do realize that she will kill them if she has the chance right?"_

"_I'm hoping she'll hold out long enough to learn the reason." More silence. "I hoping a little friend will help as well."_

"_Friend?" asked a perplexed voice._

"_So she hasn't told you yet?" came the surprised response._

"_Told me what?" demanded the voice. Even more silence, the second voice was probably shaking his head or some other action. Is this how Iggy always felt? Did he have to second guess what was happening every time there was silence?_

"_So you want us to go in and save the day do you?" remarked the first voice. "You do know this will cost extra right?" Something sounding like a growl floated to my ears followed by chuckling. "Fine no extra cost."_

"_You'll also have to save the other people," he stated._

"_What?" he exclaimed. "Are they still alive?"_

"_Most of them, from what I've gotten from my spy, only four died in the ambush."_

"_Fine," came the resigned reply. "But this will definitely cost more."_

"_I know old friend, I know."_

Total POV

"Are you sure this will work?" I demanded of Gazzy.

"It'll work," he sighed. "Trust me." Bending down, he pulled out a set of picklocks. It was one of the few things Iggy had taught Gazzy before he left and joined Itex. That set of picklocks were even the ones Iggy had used when he had rescued me from the Institute.

Shaking my head, I came back to reality. "This is a stupid and suicidal plan." Gazzy simply ignored me and continued on what he was doing.

"You better get ready," remarked Gazzy casually over his shoulder. "Once I pop this lock all hell will break lose."

Sighing sadly, I moved over towards the center of the cage and pumped straight up. Sure we were stuck in a building and the roof was over 20 feet at its lowest point, but I made the jump easily. Catching the bars with my teeth, I some how managed to drag me up and out on to the bared roof. We had stayed in that same room for a day already and it had already strained us past what we had experienced before. The roof was made up of bars so sunlight could get in and Ari only closed the roof when it had just hit midday and even then it was just for an hour. We were lucky in the fact that it didn't rain otherwise we would have perished in a couple of seconds.

"You ready?" whispered Gazzy. Thanks the buildings construction, sound carried extremely easily meaning we had to whisper at all times. Even if we whispered, guards sometimes heard what we were talking about.

"Yep," I replied slightly too loudly causing echoes to sound all around us. Peering down between the gaps, I saw Gazzy open the lock. As soon as he did that though, bars slammed down closing off the exit and the floor started opening. Sprinting as fast as he could, he ran to the opposite side and jumped up. There wasn't enough room for any one, not even Angel, to open up their wings and fly. However, Gazzy didn't need wings to fly. Kicking off the ground, he placed a foot against the wall and kicked off again. Bouncing from side to side, each push from the walls gave him even more height.

That was the thing about Gazzy. For as long as we could remember, we all thought his skill was to mimic voices. We were wrong. His true unique skill was to be able to create a sort of low gravitational field on himself and anything he touches. In other words, the gravity acting on him right now, was equal that of the moon.

Reaching up, he grabbed on to the bars and swung himself expertly up. Holding out his hands, he pulled me close to his body and kicked off doing a perfect back flip. Trust me, it was not fun. The world spiraled around me and I thought I was going to die. The ground came rushing up to meet me, but at the last couple of seconds, he managed to right his course and land on his feet. Leaping out of his arms, I ran to a near by bush where I promptly threw up my guts.

"I swear, you're half cat of something," I told him. Gazzy couldn't reply though as seen, as he was too busy laughing. I swear I tried to walk straight, really I did, but I could. The world kept on spinning around me. I couldn't concentrate let alone walk in a straight line.

"This is no time for fun and games," I told him. "We've still got to find Angel and Nudge." Sobered by that thought, Gazzy immediately regained his composure and motioned for me to follow him. Following him, I spared a glance over my shoulder. Under the floor was supposed to be a pool of gators or something. I know it's not really that original, but I guess it was the best that they could come up with.

"Where are they?" he asked me. Placing my nose to the ground, I tried to find their scent. "Anything?"

"Nothing yet," I replied without looking up. Then I caught a whiff of something. I knew that smell. "Got it," I replied over my shoulder.

"You found Nudge and Angel?"

I shook my head, "I found Ari's scent." Slowly I moved forwards and assessed how long ago it was. "I think it's just after he left us."

"And he still had Angel and Nudge with him," announced Gazzy. It took a while, but it finally clicked. "That means all we have to do is follow his scent." I nodded my head. An alarm sounded behind us.

"Guess we better hurry up then," he remarked casually.

"Gazzy," I whispered urgently. "We've got trouble."

"What?" he asked in reply. I gestured with my snout. Peering from behind the rubble, there were was group of Eraser dead center of the road. Usually we would sneak by them, but that was the only path to where Angel was located. To our right was a cliff face and on our left was a pile of rubble.

"We'll have to go risk it," he responded.

"I was afraid you would say that," I told him.

"We have no choice," he replied rather tartly.

"I know Gazzy, I know," I sighed.

Stretching my legs, I started walking out accompanied by Gazzy. Sneaking up to the nearest two, we pounced. Bearing down on my target, I ripped out his throat. Blood sprayed all over me and I wanted to throw up, but I had to do it, there was no other choice. We learnt a while ago that the only way to dissuade Erasers now days was to kill them. Even so, I disliked doing so. The haunted look in Gazzy's eyes told me the same story.

Without a second of hesitation, we bounded up towards our next target. We couldn't take them by surprise like we did the other two, but we still had to dispatch them quickly before one of them could rise the alarm. Ducking low under the Erasers swing, I rammed him straight in the stomach. While he doubled over, I leapt up and knocked him to the ground. An audible crack signaled that he was indeed dead. Dashing forwards, I jumped out claws outstretched and raked the person across the back drawing blood. Landing softly I ripped open his stomach and was awarded with the sight of guts. I wanted to puke, but this wasn't the time. Glancing up, I saw Gazzy managing to fend off two Erasers. Running over, I swept the feet of one from under her. As she crashed to the ground, I jumped straight up aiming for her spine. This time I didn't need to hear anything to know she was dead. Standing up on shaky legs, I saw Gazzy bending over puking. I guess we'll never get over death. From the shadows an Eraser jumped out. His bearings would take him on to Gazzy back and there was no way he could win. I ran over, but even as I reacted I knew it was futile. There was no way I could make it in time. Never the less I tried. I had to. I owed Max that much didn't I?

_BANG!!_

The single gunshot ran out through the country, or what was left of it. The Eraser just behind Gazzy dropped on to the ground a single bullet hole through his head. Startled I saw him whirl around, but I had already abandoned that reaction. Instead I searched for the owner of that shot. Up on the hill next to me, off in the distance, I saw a figure cloaked in darkness. Next to her was a large dog of some kind. Leaping off the cliff, the dog bounded down, kicking off the rock face with precision and silence. The mysterious figure followed suite and slid down the hill. Both of them disappeared around the corner.

**A/N Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	13. Meetings

**A/N There's even more POV change this chapter. I try to limit it so that a whole chapter is done in one person's POV, but it's run away with me. If however you do prefer POV changes please tell me. Thanks to all reviewers. Also a special thanks to Amsrule who actually bothered to comment on the song I chose. Come on people, I want some ideas here.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XII: Meetings.

Max POV

We watched silently as the Eraser tumbled to the ground. A bullet hole evident in his head. He missed the Arc member by a couple of millimeters. If I had arrived a second later, he would be dead by now.

"Nice shot," commented Orphius.

A dog by the person's side looked around for my location. There was something similar about him. Zooming in with my raptor vision, I viewed the dog. There was something familiar about him. He reminded me of Total slightly, but he was too small. It's been four years after all, he should be larger than that.

"You do remember our deal right?" I responded after a while. He nodded his head mutely. "Then we better get started. The faster we clean up this mess, the sooner I can learn the truth."

"You don't have to remind me," he replied in a resigned tone

Leaping from where we stood on the cliff, he jumped down and expertly placed his footing so that he made no noise. Leaping from side to side to side, he made his way down. Placing the stolen handgun back in to my pocket, I picked up the lid of a garbage can. Stepping back a little, I ran forward and jumped off the edge placing my foot on the lid. Sure it was easier to just fly down, but I didn't want the Arc members to know about my wings.

Sliding that hill was probably the most fun I've ever had. The wind whipped my hair back and I could feel my make shift board rising off the ground becoming air born. It wasn't as good as flying though. Nothing is ever better than flying.

"How about revenge?" asked a voice in my head. More accurately, it was my voice, just with a bit more growl in it.

"_Depends on who it's on,"_ I replied calmly.

"Ari, Iggy, Fang, Angel," she started listing. "There's also Jeb and."

"_I get the point," _I replied with a mental snarl. _"Revenge is sweet."_

"Glad your seeing it my way," replied Eraser Max.

Vaulting off the lid, I landed with a soft crunch. Straightening, I notice a bunch of Erasers emerging from the shadows to surround me. All of them had a murderous eye.

"Who left the kennel open?" I asked no one in particular.

"Hey," complained a voice. "I resent that."

"Where have you been?" I asked Orphius as he moved next to me. As he did so, I saw a couple of Erasers glance around nervously. "You seem to have a reputation."

"What can I say," he replied with a shrug. "Not many people are crazy enough to go against Itex, let along survive." He surveyed our surroundings before continuing. "Why is it I can never leave you along with you getting in trouble?"

"What this?" I remarked. "A simple pinwheel should take care of it."

"A pinwheel?" he exclaimed. Over the course of spending weeks together, I had inadvertently told him about some of the codes Jeb had taught us. Pinwheel being one of them. "Sure we could try that if you wanted to kill us that is." The Erasers started circling closer. "I was thinking more along the lines of Spider Web."

"And I'm meant to be the crazy one?" I retorted. In my peripheral vision I could see the Erasers getting ready to jump. Six of them, this shouldn't be too difficult. I locked eyes with Orphius and he gave the barest of nods.

As one, the Erasers pounced thinking we were distracted. Smiling that the success of the ploy, I simply dived forwards between two Erasers. Twirling around, I felt my heel connect solidly with somebody's face. A sickening crack rang out. Mentally I shuddered. Every time I heard that sound, it reminded me of what happened in the sewage systems under New York City. Ducking low under a swinging paw, I elbowed in the chest placing all my weight behind that single blow. At first I felt the hard contact with his ribs, then they suddenly gave way. I think I broke a couple of ribs. Sliding my back foot so that it was in line with the other, I launched a kick that hit her in the same spot. The ribs gave way and punctured her lungs making her back up further. With out missing a beat, I brought my fist down. This time I felt the ribs dig deeper. The Eraser slumped to the ground dead.

"Looks like you punctured his heart," came the casual observation from Orphius.

"Thank you Sherlock," I replied over my shoulder. The sound of running footsteps made me turn around in time to see a dirty boy about 13 or 14 years old covered in mud and at approximately 6 feet tall. He was covered in mud so I couldn't tell the color of his hair. His eyes though were this brilliant shade of blue though. I have only ever seen two people with that shade.

Total POV

We watched in a mixture of horror and amazement and the two people took down the Erasers with ease. It was brutal. What would take usually ten minutes, they accomplished in five. It was unnatural. There was however a familiarity in the way the female moved. It resembled the way Max fought. More aggression than she used, sure, but the basics were the same. If she had pulled off a roundhouse kick, I would have known for sure. After all I've only seen Max pull that move a million times.

"Are they done yet?" asked Gazzy. Turning around, I saw him with his hand over his eyes.

"Do you hear anymore screaming?" I asked him.

"No," came the reply.

"Then they're done." Nodding his head, he removed his hand. He simply stood there and trembled from the sight of slaughter. "We should probably thank them," I suggested. No reply. I guess he was too shaken. I nudged him slightly on the knee.

Blinking a couple of times, he nodded his head. "I guess we should."

We made our way carefully towards the two. We didn't know what their plan was. We didn't know what they were doing here. I moved close to her, the person and tried to get a scent. All I could smell was blood, sweat and sewage. Just the smell of it made me want to gag. The sound of crunching footsteps made me whirl. Gazzy stood there giving me a sheepish smile. Talk about being silent. The grin on his face slowly faded as the woman gazed at him. There was a deep anger in her eyes. A murderous intent that was evident. She wanted revenge for some reason, but what? She was just over 6 foot and had long wavy hair. Her skin was lightly tanned and her clothes were torn and in bad shape. As she moved her arm, I saw through the torn fabric and a single feature drew my attention. It was a jagged scar that went horizontal. That scar was identical to one Max had.

"What do you want?" she hissed at Gazzy. Even though it was not directed at me, I still felt the venom in it and involuntarily took a step back.

"Who are you?" asked Gazzy tentatively. Poor Gazzy, human were so badly made. Then again he wasn't exactly human. I was scared. I was terrified. The anger must be directed at Gazzy and this might just set her off the edge.

To my surprise, she threw back her head and laughed. It was the laugh of a maniac. "Who am I?" she asked. "Who am I?" Each time she repeated that phrase it became louder. "WHO AM I?" she finally yelled.

With a snarl she launched herself at him. Before I could interfere, a gray shape threw itself at her. They both tumbled to the ground in a cloud of dust. When they had finally finished struggling, I finally saw who it was that save Gazzy. It was wolf. It stood just under four meters tall and its fur was gray. What shocked me most was that the side of its face was covered in blood and that there were three distinct markings over the eye. They were claw marks. Leaning down, the wolf moved its jaw as if it was talking. Talking. What a joke. How could an animal talk?

"Total?" whispered Gazzy.

"What?" I replied just as quietly.

"Who is she?" he asked tentatively never letting his gaze wonder.

"I'm fine now Orphius," exclaimed the girl. "Get off me." With one last lingering look, the wolf got off. So the wolf was called Orphius was it? Standing up, she dusted herself off. "We'll rescue the Arc members," she commanded. "You go after Angel and Nudge. Make sure to free them." Turning around, she started to leave. "Meet us at the top of the ridge, there's a building up there with Arc members," she added.

The two of them started to leave, "MAX!!" I yelled after them. I could feel Gazzy's startled gaze on me and the wolf Orphius kept on walking as if nothing had happened. The girl however stopped moving and turned around slowly.

"What did you call me?" she asked in a dead even tone. It sent a chill down my spine. Her voice had an odd echo to it. It seemed as if it was layered with another.

"Max," I repeated more firmly. "I know that is who you are."

"Max," she repeated more to herself. "Maximum. Maximum Ride." She shot me an almost amused glance. "Yes, that is who I am. The invincible, indestructible Maximum Ride." She chuckled softly to herself. "I was the leader of the flock." Her voice suddenly turned in to a growl. "Until you tried to turn me in to a slave." Pivoting on her right foot, she strode away.

"Max!!" yelled Gazzy. He was desperate. For so long we had thought she was dead, that Itex had murdered her. Yet here she was, walking away from us, from her destiny. Once again she was leaving us and there was nothing we could do to stop her. I had seen the revenge in her eyes, the anger. I doubt she would ever forgive us.

"She's leaving us again," cried Gazzy. "Isn't she?"

I strolled over to Gazzy and laid my head on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine Gazzy."

"How can you say that?" he demanded. "Max left."

"We've been living without Max for four years now Gazzy, almost five," I reminded him. "We don't need her look after us." He gazed at me with his beautiful blue eyes. "Angel on the other hand still needs us. We have to save her."

With a grim determination, he stood up. I knew how much it had cost him. Even know, we still look up to Max, we try to win her praise. For as long as I could remember, Max was the best leader we've ever had. The best we'll ever have. Even with Angel and her mind reading skills, she couldn't match Max. I guess there was still some emotional attachment and for him to finally cast it away must have been painful. After all a mother rejecting a child is never easy.

"Where are they?" he asked me. I simply pointed with my snot. Nodding his head, we continued down the path. Every so often he would glance over his shoulder, down the path Max had gone and every time he would shake his head and keep on walking. I was so proud of him.

**A/N Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	14. Test

A/N Marie raised a very good question about how Iggy knew it was Max in Chapter XI and so far, I've been doing a lot of thinking on it. See people, that's what I'm asking for, little things that has to make me think about my story. It's one of the few ways of improving ones writing. Thanks to all reviewers.

Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.

Chapter XIII: Test.

Total POV

I smelt them before I actually saw them. Angel and Nudge. There is no mistaking their scent, after all I've lived with them for over four years now. Under all of that sewage and grime, I could still smell Nudge's perfume and Angel's sweet, flowery smell.

"How much further?" asked Gazzy between pants. We hadn't walked that far, but thanks to starvation and a fight with the Erasers, we were both tired, hungry and irritated.

"Almost there," I replied. "I can smell them from here."

"You can smell something from miles away," he reminded me. I nodded my head, it was true.

"Gazzy!!" came a shout from up ahead. Startled, we exchanged half a glance and ran off up the road. My legs protested against the strain I was putting on it, but I simply ignored it. Angel was in trouble and I had to save her. I had to help her.

Turning the last corner, I skidded to a stop just before I would have ran in to a building. It was twice the height of the one Gazzy and I was kept in. The door was locked with a simple lock that would have taken Gazzy two minutes to open. About half way up the tower was an open window and by the look of the prison, it was too tiny for either Angel or Nudge to open their wings completely. The sound of continuous talking made me grin. Even now Nudge couldn't stop talking.

"Angel?" called out Gazzy.

"Get me out of here!!" she shrieked. We both winced at the sound of her voice.

"We won't be able to pick the lock," I reminded him.

"We'll have to go though the window then," he remarked judging the distance.

"Is it large enough?" I asked concerned.

"If it's not I'll just have to make it," he replied with a grim determination.

Bending his legs, he jumped straight up. Reaching up, he managed to hold on to a pole that was sticking out. Swinging himself expertly, he placed his legs on it and jumped up again reaching the window. Swinging his legs over the edge, he dropped out of sight. I stood around nervously. I always hated waiting. Getting up, I started pacing in circles. After a couple of minutes, or at least I thought it was minutes, nobody had appeared.

"Gzzy!!" No response. This sucked. What if something had happened to them? What if it was a trap? What if. . . I shook my head getting rid of that last thought. I needed to do something useful, something to get my mind off the waiting. A slight flicker of light to my right made me freeze. Standing perfectly still, I watched from the corner of my eye waiting for that flicker to happen again. When nothing happened I walked over and placed my nose to the ground. I smelt nothing. Sighing, I started moving away, when a scent drifted over. Startled, I jumped back and swung around ready to attack. The person that stood before me was a wolf. The same wolf that was with Max.

"Where's Angel?" he asked me. All I could do was stare in surprise, it could talk? "Answer me Total," he pressed. "Where the hell is Angel."

"In the tower," I replied without really knowing why. "You can talk?" I suddenly blurted out.

He simply gave me a look that made me feel like an idiot. "Good," he nodded. "Get her out of here as fast as possible."

"Why?" I asked confused.

He gave me another one of his looks and turned around. "Why do you think?" he asked me. I got a definite impression that it was male. "Angel tried to mind control her and take her down as leader." He looked over his shoulder and stared straight in to my eyes. "She's out for revenge." Turning back around he started moving forward again. Nodding my head, I was about to walk back to tell Gazzy to get a move on when his voice stopped me. "If you reach Arc," he started. He sounded as if he did not want to do this. "Tell Fang to look out."

I blinked in surprise, it took a while, but I finally managed to compute what he had said. "You know Fang?" I exclaimed surprised. By that time. He had already disappeared.

I stood at the base of the building waiting for Nudge to jump down. Opening her wings, she gently glided down. A couple of seconds later, she was followed by Angel and finally Gazzy who simply jumped down landing softly on his feet.

"We have to get out of here," I told them urgently. It's been almost thirty minutes since that wolf had visited me and I didn't know how long it would take for Max to show up.

"Why?" asked Angel perplexed. "We have to find Max don't we?"

I grounded my teeth, I couldn't believe it. "You told her didn't you?" I accused Gazzy. This is just getting better and better.

"Well," he trailed off.

"We don't have time to look for her." I turned my gaze so that it was fixed on Angel. "She can take care of herself well enough."

"But," she started.

"No buts," I told her sternly. "We need to get out of here. You need to get out of here."

I saw her narrow her eyes and I knew immediately what she was doing.

"_One, two three,"_ I started counting in my head. _"Four, five, six hundred and seventy four. Seven, eight, nine,"_ I started skipping numbers trying to throw her off.

"He said what?" she suddenly yelled. Damn it!! I wasn't fast enough. "Is it true?" she asked me. I could see the tears forming at the corner of her eyes. The pleading look on her face. She wanted me to say that it wasn't true, that it was all a lie. But I couldn't.

"So it is true," she whispered more to herself than to anyone. "It's true." Burring her face in her hands, she started crying.

"We don't have time for this," I told her sternly. More so than I should have or would have liked, but it was necessary. I was not going to lose Angel.

"What is it?" asked Gazzy and Nudge obviously perplexed at the whole situation.

"You know that wolf that was with Max?" I asked Gazzy.

"Yeah what about him?" he questioned.

"I just met him and he made it quite clear that Max is out for revenge and is probably going to kill her," I told him. As soon as I said that I saw that it broke his heart. After all it was his plan that involved Angel brain washing Max.

"What have I done," he muttered. Dropping on to his knees, he crawled over to Angel and held her in his arms. "I'm so sorry," repeated over and over.

"We don't have time for this," I commanded. "We have to get out of here."

"Where?" asked Nudge.

I surveyed our surroundings and saw a couple of people running towards us. I motioned with my snot and Nudge automatically stepped out and blocked their view of Angel and Gazzy.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Your Total?" asked the first person. I noticed that he had the shoulder knots of someone in Arc. A commander if I'm not mistaken. I simply nodded my head. "A wolf told us to find you and take you to some place safe."

"Where?" I asked him. I moved closer trying to see if I could smell fear or anxiety coming from him. Over the years I found that when someone was telling a lie, they naturally become nervous.

"Over there." He pointed at a building that was significantly better preserved than most of the building around here. Its wall was covered with black markings and bullet holes. At least there weren't any holes and there was still a roof. I can't say anything about the windows though.

I nodded my head, I could smell anything fishy about him, he was total legit.

"Come on," urged rest of the Flock. To my surprise, I saw that both Angel and Gazzy had recovered enough to look like themselves. They nodded their heads and started picking their way thought the ruins. Once they were far enough ahead, I turned and looked at the two Arc members. "Where are they now?" I asked them.

"The wolf and the lady are taking the others to an Arc camp that we have up the hill," replied the first one. The hill he pointed at was in the opposite direction we were traveling in. I sighed in relief.

"The wolf said something about a disagreement between that young lady and the girl," added the second person. "He told us that he would sort it out eventually. If not him than a Voice." He shook his head in bewilderment. "A Voice he said."

I decided to nod my head and to not comment. If anyone or thing could sort out this mess was the Voice.

"Thank you," I told them. "Is there anywhere your meant to be?"

They both shook their heads. "Our orders were to escort you to the building and keep guard outside."

"Very well," I responded.

We sat in the building, each one of us lost in thought. Me? I was afraid. I was really afraid. Who knows what Max was going to do. I could still see that endless anger that I saw in her eyes and that was only from seeing Gazzy. Who knows what she would do when she saw Angel, the very same person who wanted to overthrow her place as leader. The very though made me shake with fear. It was too horrible to think about. A soft breeze announced a visitor. Startled I looked up and saw the same wolf as before. He was standing right next to Angel and was murmuring in her ear. How did he get in? I saw her suddenly go pale and I started getting up, rushing to her side. A single look made me stop. Turning his head back to Angel, he continued his conversation. She looked up and whispered something back. He simply nodded his head. I could see the doubt in her eyes, the uncertainty. Even with that tough, she still nodded her head. The smell coming from her made me want to run out and throw up. That was all I could smell, the fear.

"What did you tell her?" I asked him harshly when he moved past.

"You smell that?" he asked me. "The fear, the darkness." He took in a deep breath. "Yet under all of that, you can still smell the determination, the strength." He smiled ambiguously.

"What did you tell her?" I repeated.

"I told her what's going to happen," he replied calmly, his eyes trained on the door. "I told her what would happen if she failed, what would happen to the world. What would happen the Flock." He removed his gazed and stared at her. "What would happen to her." He then flashed me smile. "I also told her what would happen if she got through. This is for both of them. If one fails, they all do." The door creaked open slightly and a woman stepped in. "And now the test begins."

I snapped my head and looked at him. Test? Oh crap.

**(A/N I was going to end it here, but as seen as it's Chapter XIII, I think you all deserve a little something)**

"Orphius?" she called out. Stepping through the door, a sudden gale suddenly flipped it open. I could hear several gasps from behind me.

"Max?" called Nudge tentatively.

Her head snapped around and I saw her eyes narrow suddenly. The anger that was there burned once more and this time, it lit the room up. She calmly surveyed the room. A chill ran up my spine. Last time Max acted that way, Ari ended up half dead in a bloody mess on the ground begging for mercy.

Her gaze penetrated the walls. Her gaze lingered on Nudge, before she continued her sweep. When it finally reached me, I swear I was looking in to the eyes of Death. There were absolutely no emotions in them. All I could see or feel was darkness. How long did I stand there and look at her? A year? Or maybe it was a decade? Afterwards I was told it was only for a couple of seconds. But in those seconds, I lost my soul. Finally her gaze found Angel. I didn't wish it upon her, but I felt relieved that it was no longer trained on me.

"You," she whispered. Strangely, her voice carried over the howling wind and the banging door. The split the crackle of electricity that filled the room like a blade going though the throat.

"Max," responded Angel, her eyes still trained at the ground. The fear emitting from her was overwhelming now. After a couple of seconds, she lifted her head and I could smell the resolve in her, the need to make things right. "I'm sorry."

It was clearly not what Max was expecting. She blinked a couple of times in surprise. A smile played at the corner of her lips. "You're sorry?" she demanded in a dead silent voice. If Death could talk, then this would be his voice. "That's all you've got to say?" She took a menacing step forwards. I tried to move in front of Max, but I couldn't move. Something was preventing me. "After all these years, that's all you've got to say?"

"What else am I meant to do?" asked Angel.

She opened her mouth and said a couple of words, but I was too far away to hear. The confused expression on Angel's face must have meant that she missed it as well. "I said," repeated Max. "For starters, you could die." With each word, she took a step closer. "And then," she continued. "You can rot in the School's darkest lab and beg for mercy, but never die." Her face suddenly took on a thoughtful expression. "On second thought." This time when she looked at Angel, a violent anger blossomed like a red rose. "You can just die!!"

Lunging forwards, she placed a hand on Angel's throat and tightened. No, it wasn't a hand, it was a claw, an Eraser's claw. Tightening her grip, I could see blood dripping down her neck. With seemingly no effort, Max lifted Angel off the ground and slammed her in to a wall. Such hatred, such anger. The smell of revenge washed everything else away. Nothing else mattered.

"Why?" asked Angel. I think that's what she said, I couldn't hear her properly.

"Why what?" snarled Max.

"Why wouldn't you let me be leader?" I shook my head regretfully, why did she have to ask that question.

"IS that all you want to know?" growled Max. Leaning forwards, her face was only millimeters from Angels face. "What no begging for mercy? No screaming?" A savage smile took over her features. "You take the fun out of everything." Tossing Angel to one side, she slowly made her approach.

"Why didn't I let you become leader?" mused Max. Silence descended. It was oppressive. "I'll tell you why Angel. We had just blown up Itex and as seen as Itex provides all of the money for the School, they were bound to be pissed off." She slowly paced around in circles. "Now if you remember correctly the School has a couple thousand killer Erasers. Thanks to Gazzy and Iggy's fabulous demonstration of pyrotechnics, they were pissed off." She suddenly stopped and dropped down so that she was eye level with Angel. "I was fourteen at the time Angel. I had to take care of six other people. I had a bunch of pissed off mutant psychopathic Erasers on our tail. Now tell me this Angel, if you were in my situation, would you let a six year old who still keeps stuff bears to lead a possible suicidal mission?" She threw back her head and laughed. Just hearing it made my blood turn cold. "Save the world Max." She mimicked a voice that I've never heard before. "I had to save the world. I couldn't let you take over angel, not without endangering everybody else. What if Erasers came while you were in charge? What is something bad happened? What if there was an accident?" She was silent for a couple of seconds and when Angel opened her mouth to say something, Max cut in. "Sure I could have let you take over being leader, but that would have almost certainly meant death."

Stepping forwards, I saw that the hand became a claw once again. She raised it high above her head and was about to cut off her head, when Angel lifted her eyes. They were clouded over and I could tell that she was trying to take control of Max.

"That idiot!!" exclaimed the wolf. I guess his name's Orphius. "I specifically told her not to do that!!" Standing, up, he slowly made his way across. A shadow. That's what he was, a shadow. He didn't make a single sound. He suddenly froze in place. "Damn it!!" he yelled in to the night sky. "Let me go!!" Silence greeted his words. "I know you're there, let me go." More silence.

"You have free reign!!"

Those four words cracked like a snake strike. It echoed all around us and I could see surprise on Orphius' face. Slowly, it changed to amused. "So, the true test finally begins."

**A/N If you haven't realize, that line "You have free reign!!" was Max talking to her Eraser half and you all know how much Eraser Max wants to kill someone. I forgot to mention this before, but I'm on holiday over here so I'm be updating about 2-3 times a week. It'll most likely be on Sunday (today) Tuesday and Thursday. I'm trying to spread it out evenly. Reviews would be nice.**


	15. Diversions

A/N An interesting challenge has been placed up about Maximum Ride by Dino12345610 on her profile. It's basically about what would happen if Angel found out how to rule the world and whether Max will have to kill her or not. Check it out people. Thanks to all reviewers 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XIV: Diversions.

Max POV

I blinked my eyes a couple of times as they adjusted to the darkness. Ever hit your head a dozen times with a mallet and then tried writing something? I don't suggest you try it, but it hurts and gives you one blinder of a headache. You can try it if you want and it would come fairly close to what I was feeling, but not exactly, it would more than likely be slightly worse. Try it if you want. Groaning, I tried to reach up with my hand, but something was restraining it. Slowly, I twisted my hand around so that I could grasp on to the rope and try to untie it. What the hell happened in the last couple of hours? Everything was a blur. I seem to remember meeting Angel, but I must be crazy, right? I tugged on the rope taking a look at how well it was tightened. I couldn't get an inch off it. I sighed sadly, I knew I should have paid more attention to those rope escape lesions Jeb gave us.

"You wake?" asked Orphius. I winced at the words. Spoken softly, they still split my head.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"You don't remember?" He sounded concerned.

"I remember talking to Angel," I replied cautiously. "But I must have dreamed that up." He gave a long searching look. "You've got be joking."

"I'm afraid not." He looked away.

"I'm going to kill that son of a. . ." I started.

"No you're not," interrupted Eraser Max.

"_What?" _I screamed inwards.

"_I'm afraid she's right for once Max," _added the Voice.

"_You stay out of this!!" _I ordered him. I turned my attention to my Eraser half, _"I thought you wanted them all to die."_

"I do," did she sound a little embarrassed. "But Angel made a promise that I couldn't refuse."

"_What was it?" _I asked internally.

"Ask Angel," she snapped.

"What happened?" I asked Orphius.

"Finished with your private conversation?" he replied. I shot him a glare. "Nothing much. Lets just say you both passed the test."

"TEST!!" I screamed at him. Even now, four years after I left the Flock, I was still given tests? After the echoes died down, I wished I hadn't yelled so loudly. My head was going to explode, literally.

"Total said you would take it badly," he muttered under his breath.

"Total?" I asked him keeping my voice low.

"You know that dog that can't keep his mouth shut?" he asked me archly.

"I guess Nudge and Gazzy and Fang are here as well?" I snarled.

"Fang's not here." He paced over and started biting through the rope tying me down.

"Where is he?" I questioned. "It's part of our deal."

"Fang's at Arc," he replied a slight smile on his face. I swore for a long time. Damn it!! Our deal stated that he would tell me where Fang was and lead me there, but we were already heading there. Damn It!!

Sitting up, I quickly untied my right leg while Orphius chewed though my left.

The door banged open sending another blade in to my head. "Orphius, we've got company," reported a messenger. "Eraser's are coming from behind, the commander wants you to take a look at how many Ghosts there are."

"I'm coming," he answered. Standing up, he started walking out the door. Getting off the table, I ran to catch up with him.

"I'm going with you," I told him daring him the refuse. He simply nodded.

"Where are they?" he asked our guide.

"Over there." He pointed out towards the ruins were the Arc members were kept.

Walking forward slightly, I shifted my eyes so that they became Eraser like and gazed out. There were at least two dozen Erasers accompanied by a dozen Ghosts.

"There are a dozen ghosts," I reported. The guide looked at me surprised.

"You mean thirteen," corrected Orphius. "You missed the one by the street sign."

"You're right." Standing under the street sign was indeed another Ghosts. The color slowly came back in to my vision as I switched back to my normal eyes. As I did so, I noticed dark figures behind them.

"There are more coming," I told them.

"Raptor vision?" inquired Orphius. I simply nodded my head. "How many?" he demanded.

"At least fifty," I told him. "They mean business."

"That's more than we can take right now," protested the guide.

I simply ignored the comment. "Here's what I want you to do," I ordered him sternly. "I want three snipers each in those four building. Get Angel to take all of the civilians to Arc. Get them as far away from here as possible. If they make it to Arc before we're done, tell them that they are only to enter once everyone is safe and they are not to do any heroics. Position the rest of the Arc members behind the rubble and make sure that they can defend themselves." The messenger just stared at me wide eyed. "Are you deaf? Get going!!" He went dashing away looking for the nearest person in charge.

"And what are we doing?" asked Orphius staring at me.

"What gave you the idea that we're going to do anything?" I asked him innocently.

"You won't sit out of a battle Max," he told me. "Even if you wanted to I doubt your Eraser half would let you."

"He's got you there Max."

"_Oh go away," _I told her exasperated. "Fine you caught me."

"So what are we doing?" he asked me yet again.

"Is there a building around here." He gave me a look. "Fine a most intact building."

"There's a mall near here. It's got a hole in it from where the bomb went off, but a part from that, it's mostly intact," he informed me.

"Then that's where we're headed," I announced.

"Why?" he asked me.

I told him one single word. "Diversion."

He turned his gaze towards the on coming mob. "We better get started first."

"We need to grab their attention first," I reminded him.

"I can do that," he stated. "You get as close to the mall as possible and I'll catch up."

"I don't know where it is," I told him.

"Go west for a mile or so," he estimated. "You can't miss it." With those words, he sped off towards the on coming onslaught. Sighing sadly, I made my way slowly towards my destination.

I waited silently behind the reminiscent of what I think was a film studio. I clutched the gun I had liberated closely to my chest and waited. How long did that bloody wolf need to grab the attention of a couple Erasers? The sound of running footsteps and yelling made me look from my hiding point. Orphius was clearly being chased by Erasers. Closing my eyes, I changed them to become Erasers eyes. Opening them, I saw that there were five Ghosts accompanying in the group. I had exactly six bullets, I could only miss once. Taking another deep breath, I dived out from behind the wall and I could clearly see Orphius' startled expression. Leveling my gun, I aimed and fired. The Ghost tumbled to the ground. Even though the Ghosts were only shimmers in my vision, they clearly stopped and stared. I didn't have time to be smug, instead I used that split second the fired two more times. Each time, my target crumpled with a yelp of pain. Swiveling, I took aim at the closet target. Unfortunately, they were released from their stupor just in time to dodge my bullet. One miss, that was all I could afford and I had spent it. Gritting my teeth, I shot once again dropping a Ghost in mid stride.

"Time to go," nudged Orphius.

"One more shot," I told him from the corner of my mouth.

"You better hurry then," he reported urgently. "We've only got a couple of seconds before they're on top of us and we can't kill them all."

Lifting my arms, I aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet ached through the air and narrowly missed, sailing wide to the right. Standing up, I tucked my gun in to my pants pocket and started running in the direction of the mall.

"What's the plan?" asked Orphius.

"What ever gave you the idea that I might have a plan?" Ducking low under a fallen streetlight, I ran in to the car pack of the mall. Cars lined the car park, cobwebs filled the remaining space and dust coated all surfaces. Dead animals lay on the ground, rotten flesh filled my nostrils and bones crunched under foot. Is this what awaited the world?

"_Only if you fail," _commented the Voice. He sounded sad, depressed.

"_Well I better not fail then," _I responded.

I mentally felt him smile. _"That's my Max."_

"Can you drive a motorcycle?" Orphius suddenly asked.

"How hard can it be?" I demanded him.

"That's my Max." Amusement tinged his voice. I blinked at him in surprise. Could it be? Shaking my head at the absurd thought I walked over towards the bike. Throwing leg over the bike I looked down at it. I had no idea how to start this thing. I have been in a car before and I have driven it, so it couldn't be that difficult. . . could it? Obviously the first thing I should do is start the engine. Reaching over, I found the keys still in the ignition. I've never been religious, but I felt this would be a good time to say a prayer in hopes that it still function.

"You better hurry," urged Orphius. "They'll be here in a couple of seconds."

The motorcycle burst to life under me purring with satisfaction. "Think you can keep up?" I asked him.

"Just try to out run me," he challenged.

Leaning forwards, I gunned it. The walls liquefied around me and seemed to melt away. All the cars where compressed in to a single line that flashed by. Tentatively I tried changing direction and felt it respond superbly. It was better than I imagined. Then, disaster struck. As I leaned in to the corner, I felt it tipping over too far, I couldn't get it to stand back up. Orphius sensed my problem and jumped up and smashed in to the side of the bike giving it enough of a push for me to regain balance.

"Thanks," I told him.

"Don't thank me yet," he told me. "Erasers approaching."

Faster than I expected, the shapes of Erasers rushed up to greet me. I wasn't and expert and I've got no idea what's so ever how I managed to pull it off, but I somehow stopped the bike making it rise up on the front wheels. Throwing my weight to one side, the bike spun around hit an Eraser directly in the face. As it dropped down on it's back wheel, I had all ready seen my next course of action. Driving the bike, I aimed directly for the part of roof that had collapsed in on it's self. Sticking out to the right of it was a metal pole that was probably helping keep the roof up. Racing towards it, reached out and grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall. Tucking it under my arm, I gritted my teeth and waited for the ramp to approach.

"What are you planning?" asked Orphius who had amazingly kept up with me. "I liked the whole tire to the face thing, but what are you trying now?"

"What and learn Orphius, watch and learn."

Lifting my arm, I held out the fire extinguisher off to my right perfectly in line with the spike. As I hit the ramp, the metal casing was punctured sending white gas billowing out blinding the people chasing us. We soared out in to open air. After all we were on the top floor. Opening my wings, I let the air catch me and lift me up. I know this was dangerous, but it was the only plan I could come up with. Orphius though couldn't fly. Oops, I forgot about that. Tucking my wings close to my body, I dived down racing after him. His mouth was open, but I couldn't hear anything except of the air rushing past my ear. Slow, inch by inch, I gained on him. Would it be enough though? Giving myself an extra bit of speed, I reach him and pulled him close to my body hugging him to my body.

"Don't you dare do that again," he muttered in a shaking voice. "Wolfs have nothing to do flying through the air."

Pulling him closer, I opened my wings and gently glided behind a pillar at used to the support of a building.

"Don't you dare do that again," he repeated in a slightly stronger tone of voice. A sudden explosion forestalled any further remarks from me.

"That would be the bike," I told him before he could ask. "This way they will hopefully think we are dead."

"You knew that was the top?" he asked me incredulous.

"Of course I knew that's way I did that. The fire extinguisher just gave us extra time to hide and get out of sight."

"So you did have a plan," he accused me.

I shrugged off his question. "I think it's about time for us to catch up with everyone else."

"That'll take a while."

"Not with super speed," I reminded him.

**A/N Another chapter done. Reviews would be nice.**


	16. Bombs

**A/N I know I said I would update it on Thursday and I'm sorry, but from some reason I couldn't upload the document. I'm so sorry. Also thanks to all reviewers. Enjoy!! **

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. **

Chapter XV: Bombs.

Total POV

The flames danced in front of us, painting pictures of paradise. Waving their alluring bodies, drawing us in. Casting shadows that flickered and swirled in the moonlight breeze. Twilight was here, slowly descending into the night. The sun and moon fighting a futile fight for dominance.

We were spread out in a semi circle around the fire. Each lost in our own thoughts. Max. That was probably the thought on everybody's mind. After so long, we had all thought she was dead and now she reappeared out of thin air. Sort of like a magic trick. Except, this was more serious than a magic trick. That anger, that hatred, it was all directed at Angel. All Max could see was revenge. That was all she wanted. Revenge.

I shook my head sadly and sighed. Max was meant to save the world. That's what Jeb told us. Only Max could save the world and no one else. Not even Angel or Fang. Max was the destined one. Unfortunately, Max no longer cared about that.

"Total?" Startled, I looked up and saw Angel gazing at me.

"Yeah Angel?" I asked her.

"Do you think it was the right thing to do?" she asked me. I knew what she was referring about.

"I think it was," I told her truthfully. It would be a terrible blow for the Flock if she started losing her self confidence now.

"Are you sure?" she asked me. "Would it be what Max would've done?"

My inwards cringed at her words. In the beginning when Angel first started out being leader, she asked herself that question every day. Every second in fact. After a couple of months, she stopped and just started doing what she would have done.

"Angel," I started. "It's not about what Max would have done. It's about what you would have done." I looked her straight in the eye. "You are not Max and you never will be so stop thinking like her. Max does things one way and you do them another. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and we should play with them." Comprehension dawned on her face. "Max's strengths and your strengths lie in completely different areas."

"Are you saying what I did was right?" she asked me.

"Yes Angel, I am." Arms suddenly wrapped around me hugging me tightly. I could feel tears soaking my fur and hear Angel sobbing on my shoulder. Tears pricked the corner of my eyes. How has it been since Angel and last cried? Ever since she became leader, she bundled up her emotions, trying to seem strong. Like what Max used to do. I guess I had taken on the role of Fang then. Max had Fang to comfort her and here I was comforting Angel. Ironic really.

Running footsteps and panting breaths drew my attention away and down the paved road.

"Someone's coming," I announced to the group. Everyone immediately stood up and gazed in the direction I was looking in. We had learned long ago that if anyone was coming, be prepared for the worst. After being ambushed half a dozen times, it starts getting old.

A singer messenger came up the path. "I've got a message for you," he announced. "It's from Max." That got everyone's attention. "A group of Erasers and Ghosts are coming up to assault the camp. She wants you guys to take the innocents out of the city and off to Arc. You will be accompanied by a quarter of the Arc force present. Once you reach Arc, it is your mission to make sure everyone gets in safely. You are to be the last person to enter."

Turning around, he was about to leave, but Nudge stopped him. "What if we arrive before Max or you guys show up?"

"You enter and don't look back," he replied. "You leave us behind if necessary. The most important thing is getting all the civilians to safety." With those parting words, he left before Nudge could continue.

"Come on people MOVE!!" I yelled at them as they trudged up the mountain. A couple of the refugees looked at me clearly startled. "What never seen a talking dog before?" I barked at them. I know I was being harsh on them, but they need to move faster. They didn't seem to be able to grasp the fact that Erasers had wolf DNA making them have really high endurance.

I glanced behind me nervously. We moved out over half an hour ago and yet there was still no sign of fighting. It was making me nervous.

"Do you think they managed to slip past?" questioned Gazzy.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. "But there should have been fighting ages ago and this silence is giving me the creeps."

"It's quiet," started Gazzy his in a spooky voice. "Too quiet."

Even though the situation was severe, I couldn't help, but laugh at his antics. Even in the worst situations, he could find something to make fun of.

A single gunshot rang out along the ruins cutting off our laughter. "It's starting," he whispered with a haunted look on his face.

All I could was nod grimly. So the battle had finally begun. How many would die? All around me, the vehicles stopped moving as people got and looked behind them. Gunshots rang out along the ruins and flashes of light momentarily. All around me, the vehicles stopped moving as people got and looked behind them. Gunshots rang out along the ruins and flashes of light momentarily blinding people.

"What do you think you're all doing?" I demanded them. "People are dying down there in order for us to get to safety and here you are wasting what precious time they have given us."

"He's right!!" yelled a voice from another vehicle. "This is no way to respect them!!"

Another voice agreed and another. People all round the camp started to agree and the vehicles departed with even more speed. Rumbling off down the beaten roads and off to Arc.

"Thanks," I whispered to Gazzy.

"What are you talking about?" he asked a perplexed look on his face. His eyes however were alight with mischief.

"You know what I'm talking about," I replied in a lazy tone.

"I only did the first two," he told me. "The rest were all genuine."

"If you say so," I replied in an unbelieving tone.

Silence slowly descended on to our vehicle as we traveled through the dessert.

"Do you hear that?" asked Gazzy.

"Hear what?" I asked perplexed. Slowly, it came to me. A slight rumbling. What ever it was, it was coming closer.

"Oh &" exclaimed Gazzy. I snapped across to look at him in surprise. I had never heard him swear before.

"What is it?" I asked him scared. He never swore, if he did then it must really bad.

"They've got bloody planes," he exclaimed.

"Tell everybody to run for cover," I snapped at the driver. "How far are they?" I asked Gazzy.

"A couple of minutes." He must have seen the urgency on my face and added. "At least three," he added.

The sounds of screaming and mass panic filled the air as the news traveled from car to car. The rumbling from the planes increased until the whole earth seemed to shake. Claws raked the ground leaving deep wounds on an already scarred land. Explosions echoed through the valley and bullets rained from the sky

"We can't just sit around here and do nothing," yelled Gazzy above the roar.

"What can we do?" I asked him. "It's a plane."

"We have to do something," he complained. "People are dying out there." It was true. As much as I hated people were indeed dying and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to help, but how.

As the plane finished making its first sweep, Gazzy stood and ran out in to the open. He didn't bother to hide, he just simply made a straight dash to the skyscraper in front of us. Did I even try to stop him? Could he hear me yelling? I don't know. All I remember it was a blur of events. All I remember was staring as Gazzy made his way up the building from the outside. Not by flying, but instead by using his skill of reducing gravity and finding hand holds all along the building and jumping. It's strange how it's the tiniest details you remember and how all the sounds disappear. How all you're conscious of is the thing you are focusing on. Nothing else matters.

He stood on top of the building, at the highest point. His shape was silhouetted by the crescent moon as he waited. For what I don't know.

Once again the plane slowly made it's descend, a hawk going in for the kill. Once again, bullets rained down raking the land. Gazzy jumped off the building landing effortlessly on the plane. As soon as his feet touched though, he was blown off, it was traveling too fast for him to stay on.

As he fell off the plane, an explosion blossomed behind him. The light blinded everybody. The sound suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I swear my ears ruptured from the force. Before people could regain their balance, the shock waves arrived. I was thrown back and down on to the ground. My mouth immediately filled with dust. Already weakened buildings shattered and the glass simply imploded. The top third of the building Gazzy had used was completely demolished. Absolutely nothing was left. Picked myself off the ground making sure nothing was broken. And here I thought the Itex incident was bad.

"Report!!" I yelled off in to the darkness. "REPORT!!" I tried again.

"Here," coughed Nudge standing up ion shaky legs. "And let me tell you this, that was not fun."

"Did you see that?" yelled Gazzy. "I'd say that was even better than the Itex one. A solid thirteen."

"Thirteen?" asked Angel picking herself out from under some rubble. "Are you sure that's all you want to give it?" Dusting off her clothes, she continued, "Why not just give it a five because that explosion was so pathetic wasn't it?" Nudge and I decided to edge away slowly not wanting to be the next target. "What the hell were you thinking?" she exploded. "You could have injured yourself or . . . or . . ."

"I'm sorry Angel," whispered Gazzy as he hugged her pulling her close to him.

For the second time that night she wept. Burring her face in her brother's shoulders, she cried letting all of the anxiety he had given her pour out.

People slowly starting making their way back out in to the open and surveyed the sky watching for any signs of another plane.

"We've got to keep on moving," announced Angel to the people.

"How?" yelled a person. "The cars are totaled."

"There is something called waking," scorned Angel.

"You want us to walk?" complained another. "We can't that far."

"Well then you can just stay here and wait for the Erasers to come back and kill," she told him bluntly. Without waiting to see their reaction, she walked away disgusted.

"We can't just leave them here," prodded Nudge.

"Talk to the Arc members and get them to start everyone moving again," suggested Angel. "Taking orders from a little girl is going to piss off the civilians so get the Arc people to do it."

"That'll just piss off the Arc members," noticed Gazzy.

"You can't keep everyone happy," sighed Angel.

Gazzy and Nudge exchanged a significant look before walking away looking for Arc members to inform.

"Is it smart to annoy the Arc people?" I asked her once they were gone from earshot.

"No probably not, but Max charged me with getting people to Arc safely and that's what I'm going to do," she told me.

"Even if that means stepping on some toes?"

"Even id it means stepping on toes," she agreed.

**A/N Reviews would be nice. **


	17. Guess Who's Back

A/N I forgot to mention it this last chapter, but we all owe a thanks to acavoo and funkymunk for without them, I would never have updated the other day. So thanks both of you. Before you continue to read any further, I would like you guys to give just a moments silence to those who died in the School shooting. I am dead serious about this and I am not joking. Thanks for all reviewers and all those who did give a moments silence. 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XVI: Guess Who's Back?

Max POV

I am having so much fun right now. Seriously, I am. Walking through the sewers with murky green water that looks like puke, having who knows what swimming in the water and bugs following you everywhere. That was the thing, the bugs seemed to follow you everywhere, every time I turn around I see them with those beady little eyes. The strangest thing is the rats. Yep you heard me, I'm not afraid of rats or anything, but they are creepy when they have red eyes. Bright blood red eyes. They just give me the creeps. Why are we in the sewers again?

"_Why don't you ask Orphius Max?" _suggested the Voice.

"_What do you want?" _I questioned with a mental sigh.

"_You asked a question and I suggested an answer," _replied the Voice.

"_No I asked a question and you gave a solution that that question, but you're not the one answering it." _I kept on walking following Orphius in this god-forsaken place. I swear this is worse than outside.

"_Don't get philosophical with me," _he warned. _"If you want the answer just ask him."_

"_Fine." _ Sighing sadly, I walked up so that I was standing next to Orphius.

"Why are we in the sewers again?" I demanded.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked surprised.

"You see Orphius, I know why we're in that's why I'm asking you," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because people ask question when they already know the answer."

"Tone down the sarcasm Max," he complained. "We're walking in the sewers because it hides our scent."

"It absolutely reeks in here though," I told him bluntly. "Worse than the Gasman after a can of backed beans."

"You think its bad?" he demanded. "I've got the nose of a bloody wolf. Take what you're smelling times it by the largest number you can think of and you might just be close."

Okay, let me see, it smells like rotten vegetables plus a hint of puke, with about a couple tons of &+ and we can't forget everything else that's being thrown down here. But wait there's more, we can't forget about the animals and insects and chemicals. All in all, do NOT drink the water down here unless you have a death wish. A very painful and slow death wish.

"Would the number three googol be large enough?" I asked him sweetly.

"You mean a number with one hundred zeroes after it?" he replied just as sweetly. "Est-ce que c'est le meilleur que vous pouvez faire? Un enfant pourrait faire mieux que cela."

French, I hate French. A white coat that used to look after us spoke French. Well two people could play this game. "Pourquoi pas vous vous fermez bâtard sadique," I retorted in perfect French.

To my complete and utter surprise, he started laughing. "The only line you know in French and it's still Why don't you shut up you sadistic bastard. I thought you would have learnt something new by now."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "How did you know it was the only line I know in French?" I demanded my eyes narrowing.

His laughter abruptly ceased. "Never mind Max. We're almost at Arc anyway."

As he started to move I stepped in front of him and crouched down so that I was eye level. "You are not getting away that easily," I told him. "How did you know it was the only line I knew in French?"

He shifted his gaze uncomfortable with my scrutiny.

"How did you know?" I repeated myself with more force in my voice this time.

He still refused to answer my question.

"I will ask one more time Orphius," I threatened. "How did you know?" This time when I spoke, my voice sounded as if it was oddly layered. As if my Eraser and me half had spoken at the same time. In fact I could feel her just under a layer ready to come out at any time.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he replied in a quiet voice. Despite the volume it was spoken at, I could still feel the unmistakable growl behind it.

**Note to self: Do not make Orphius angry.**

That note I had made a while ago came back clearly to me. Along with it was an attachment. A picture. The picture of a horribly mauled Eraser. I shuddered at the very memory.

Still I was reluctant. Orphius was hiding something and I had to know what it was. A deep dark secret, that's what he was hiding. Then again don't we all have something that hidden corner of our mind no one dares open?

"Why won't you tell me?" I asked softly trying another tactic.

He looked up at me with startled eyes. "Because I'd rather forget," he replied after a couple seconds of silence. "You're not the only one with a past you'd rather forget."

While I stared at him in surprise, he managed to sneak past me and continue down the path we were walking.

"_You were right for once," _complimented my Voice.

"_Go away," _I replied irritated.

"_It was a compliment Max," _stated the Voice.

"_I know that," _I answered aggravated.

"_Don't worry Max," _soothed the Voice. _"He will tell you when he's ready."_

Before I could snap at him, I could feel the presence in my mind disappear. Standing up, I ran as fast as I could to catch up with Orphius. To my astonishment, he was standing in the middle of the sewage looking up at the sidewall.

"What are you doing?" I demanded of him.

"I told you we're almost there Max," he reprimanded. "We have to go through there." He pointed at a duct on the wall.

Great. Now we had to crawl through a duct. This is going to be fun. At least I can fit through it thanks to the exercise I've been getting.

Are you fat? Are you over weight? No matter, thanks to the ingenious weight loss program invented by Maximum Ride we can guarantee results in just five days. Everyday you run for a couple hundred of miles while evil flesh eating Erasers are on your tail as they try to capture you for a couple of sadistic mad scientists. That's not all, you also only get to eat about a third of the number of calories needed which are located in plastic bags hidden in places around America. And if you call now we will even include a field of oil that is being set on fire as an extra incentive to run that extra mile or ten.

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" he snapped at me.

"So you're saying once we make it through here we'll be at Arc," I summarized.

"No," he corrected. "Once we get through here, we'll be closer to Arc."

"You mean we have even further to go?" Why me? Who hates me so much?

"Just under a day," he responded.

Without waiting for my answer, he jumped and made his way in to the hole. I don't know what surprised me the most, the fact that he could jump so high or the fact that he could actually fit through.

Shaking my head, I reached up and felt my hand grip the edge of the ledge. It was slimy, it was sticky and I don't want to know what else was there, but I didn't care. I was covered from head to toe in sewage and sweat and blood and I've been getting nowhere near as much calories as I should. I didn't care much about anything these days.

I am so glad I'm not claustrophobic right not. But after this I might be. I've always been edgy around large crowds, the whole Flock, but that was partially because we didn't know if they were Erasers or not. Small spaces also make me edgy, but not as much. The reason being, if someone came from behind there's no room for me to turn let alone fight back. But here, in a ventilation duct, who would come and pick a fight here. Suddenly Orphius stopped ahead of me.

"What is it?" I whispered. Despite how quiet I was being, my voice still slightly echoed.

"_Be quiet Max," _hissed my Voice.

"_What's going on?" _I asked him.

"_Listen." _Was the only response I received.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated and down below me, I could hear the faint sound of yelling and fighting.

"Where did they come from?"

"I don't know, but we have to protect the people."

A scream pierced the air.

"Ray, Ray, come on ma, you've got to make it."

"Tell, tell my wife…"

"Don't say that, you'll be fine. You will be fine."

"_We've got to help them," _I told my Voice.

"_I know Max, I know." _A mental sigh came over our link. _"You've always had to help the weak. That's flaw, but it could have been worse."_

"Orphius," I called.

Although I could see him, I could feel him agreeing to what he knew I was going to do. "There's a vent out just up ahead, we can get out and help there."

"That's not fast enough," I yelled over the roar of the fighting.

A sudden explosion shook the duct we were in. I hope that one of Gazzy's bombs. The force of the bomb finally reached and it felt as if my insides were turning in to liquid. Only two people could make a bomb that powerful. Gazzy and Iggy. I'm hoping that was Gazzy.

"We need to get out there now!!" If he answered, I didn't hear him over the machine gun fire.

Holding out my hands, I could feel both of them shifting in claws. The Eraser part if me surfaced then and I could feel her fighting for control. I don't know how long I could keep her at bay before she took over completely. That's the thing, the more I become an Eraser, the easier it is for my other half to take control.

Slashing down, my claws bit into the cold metal like a chainsaw through a plane. The metal parted under our combined weight sending us crashing to the ground. All around us, the fighting was momentarily frozen as they gazed at the strange girl with two claws and the wolf that accompanied her.

"That was a bit too melodramatic for my tastes," remarked Orphius.

"I thought it was perfectly fine," I told him.

Gazing around, we both surveyed the frozen carnage around us. It's been what, five minutes and they still haven't gotten back to fighting each other.

"I saw we get this party started," I announced out loud. Except, it wasn't me, it was Eraser Max who had spoken. Hurriedly I left one of my claws morph back into a human hand. That drew gasps from the people around me.

Ducking down low, I rushed the first Eraser easily talking him to the ground and ripped out his throat spraying blood everywhere. That realized everyone from their stupor. Standing up, I searched around for my next victim.

"Hello Max," came a voice. Even without turning I knew who it was.

"Air," I replied casually over my shoulder as I turned to face him.

He looked nothing like how I remembered him. He was tall, taller than me anyways and he had a single cut across his right check. His hair was dyed blond and was spiked up. His eyes were the same however, they still held that savage look.

"I though you would be dead by now," I told him. "After all Eraser live for five years and yet here you stand."

"I know what you're talking about Max," he replied. "After all I'm well past my due date."

"So how's Jeb?" I asked him politely.

"Dead," he replied with a shrug. "I got the pleasure of seeing his face when I killed him."

"What a shame." Stepping back, a body flew between us. "I wanted to be the one to kill him."

"You can't have everything Max," he responded trying to sound wise.

"Why don't you guys just skip the pleasantries and kill each other already?" suggested Orphius. Startled, we both looked down at him. When had he arrived?

"You." Ari's face clouded in anger. I blinked in surprise, I've never seen Ari this mad before.

"How's life been mutt?" replied Orphius cheerfully.

I could help it, I cracked up laughing. "Mutt?"

Without any warning, he leapt at me claws extended. Taking half a step back, I pivoted on my heels and brought my arm blocking the blow. Using my momentum, I brought my back foot up aiming straight for his face. All I got was air. Three punches landed on my stomach, the last one leaving a gash on my arm as I blocked it. Dropping my right hand low, I ducked under Ari's next swing and brought the heel of my palm into his throat making him back up coughing.

"You've lost your touch," I taunted.

"First blood's still mine," he replied.

"Bring it on then."

After that, it was just a flurry of blows. We never stopped moving, never slowed down, only gained speed. All I was conscious of was the rhythm. Step, block, counter, step, block, counter. The chant went though my head over and over. Step to side, shuffle back and bring the arm down to block a kick, step forward giving a snap with the front arm followed by the left and a kick at the end. Over and over it went.

Stepping backwards, I felt my foot catch on something, a body probably. I crashed on to the ground with a thud. Looking up I saw Ari standing over me, sweat dripping on to me. Eww, Eraser sweat. That was just disgusting.

"It's been fun Max," he saluted me. "But I'm afraid this is where it ends."

He was going to stomp me. Not some pathetic stomp, but one that used the whole weight of the body. If that hit me, it would crack my ribs and impale my heart if I'm lucky.

As the killer blow descended, I rolled to the side and lashed out with my foot tripping him over and sending him to the ground. Getting up, I immediately dropped in to a defensive stance. Even before I had time to get him while he was on the ground, he was already up. A smirk playing on his face. I'll give you something to smirk about you #$. Diving forwards, I let my hands touch the ground and raised my foot up. I could feel it connect solidly sending a shock up my leg. Finishing the roll, I stood up and looked down at Ari's pathetic body. His neck was broken.

"And this time stay dead," I told him. Turning around, I startled leaving, when a voice stopped me.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Max." Spinning around, I saw Ari getting up and cracking his neck back in to place.

"How many times do I have to kill you?" I asked annoyed.

"I would say nine, but as seen as you've already killed me twice and fang killed me once, I'll have to go with six," he replied with an indifferent shrug.

"Cats have nine lives?" I suggested.

"Do I look like a cat?" he demanded.

"No," I replied. "But you do look like a mutt."

Roaring with frustration, he charged. Stepping back, a metal door slide in to place.

"Well that was mildly entertaining," I remarked to no one in particular.

"I'm glad you loved it so much," commented Orphius from behind me. "Because I think I'm going to faint."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, he collapse on the ground in a heap.

**A/N I'm sorry if the French was off. Please tell me so that I can get it right. I almost forgot, I've got a Fictionpress account now, but this will not interfere with the updates over here. Check out my story ** **That's really my profile, but remember to check out the story. Reviews would be nice.**


	18. There's A Reason For Everything

**A/N This sucks. The holidays are over and I've still got that English assignment from last term to finish. This really sucks. Thanks for the reviews people.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all except for Orphius.**

Chapter XVII: There's A Reason For Everything

Total POV

Once again we sat in a semicircle. But it was different this time. A lamp shone in the center of the Flock throwing a shadow in all directions. Computers lined the walls, but they were lifeless, unused, unloved. All the sound we heard was the echo of water dripping and the soft pacing of Max. For the first time in four years, Max was back and this time she was not out to kill Angel. Or anyone else for that matter. I guess she was honoring the deal her Eraser half made.

Angel opened her mouth to say something, but Max shot her a glance that could've killed her twice over and so she shut it.

That was the problem. Max would not talk to anyone. She had retreated in to herself, no one could draw her out. Fang used to do that job. He used to be the person Max would talk to. The one single person that she trusted enough to allow her emotions to surface. But now he was gone. All that bottled up emotions.

The door creaked open revealing a bald man wearing a white coat. Leaning against me, Angel stiffened as the rest of the Flock. Max however wore the mask of an impassive face and gazed at him with these unnerving yellow eyes. Wolf, that's what they reminded me off, they were wolf eyes.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"So far he seems stable," he started, but he seemed at a lost at how to continue. "But the problem is, I'm a doctor not a vet and I'm afraid I can't do anything for him."

"What the kind doctor is trying to say," interrupted a doctor before Max could start, "is that you are wasting our time and those of the people who were injured with this nonsense. We are doctors young lady and…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Max was inches away from his face. Reaching out with her claw she grasped him at the neck and held him up in the air. Murder shone in her eyes.

Next to me, Angel started trembling as she remembered when she was held in a similar position.

"Max!!" yelled Nudge trying to wake her up. "What are you doing? You're going to kill him. Wasn't it you who said we shouldn't kill people, not even Erasers unless it was in self-defense? What happened to the Max from so long ago? Where's the…"

"The Max you knew died long ago," came the emotionless voice. "She died the night she left." Her face suddenly turned reflective. "The mortality of human flesh," she mused out loud before throwing the doctor in to the sidewall. Bones broke from the force of the impact, but the doctor was already unconscious from lack of air.

The door behind us creaked slowly open. A man with brown hair and dark blue eyes strolled in reading a book. Everyone watched him silently as he walked through the center of the room, past the unconscious doctor and an enraged Max.

"Yes Max here?" he asked not bothering to look up.

"What?" demanded Max in an unfriendly tone.

Startled by the unwelcome that he got he glanced up and saw the good doctor lying on the floor. "Who knocked him out?" he asked the other doctor nicely.

Still a quivering wreck, he could only point at Max and gibber some incoherent words.

"You did this to him?" he asked surprised.

"Your point?" Folding her arms across her chest, she gazed at him with her yellow eyes.

"I wish I was here," he replied in a dreamy voice. "I've wanted so long to give him a good whack. You should have called me or something. Man, the look on his face." Everybody just stared at him in surprise. He suddenly turned worried. "I hope he's unconscious."

"Don't worry he is," replied Nudge.

"Out like an exploding bomb," added Gazzy.

"Good," he replied with a nod of his head. "He's the head of department so I don't really want to get on his bad side." He smiled a crocked smile. "But that must have hurt." After a couple seconds of inspecting his injures he looked up. "He must have really pissed you off. What the hell did he say?"

"Apparently it's a waste of time to take care of Orphius," Angel announced.

If looks could Angel would be dead by now.

"What did Orphius get himself in to this time?" came the exasperated response. "My name's Vince," he hastily added remembering his manners.

"I'm Nudge," she jumped in, "this is Angel, Gazzy, Total and Max."

"Total," he repeated for no apparent reason, "I've been getting some reports that he can talk."

"So what if I can?" I demanded of him.

"Another talking animal," he mused not even sounding remotely surprised. "I thought Orphius was the only one."

Max cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. "Can you help Orphius or not?" she inquired. "If you can't I suggest you leave before things start getting messy in here."

"I might be able to," he replied after several seconds deliberation. We all watched him intently waiting for his response. "When was the last time he used breath freshening?' he suddenly asked with no warning.

"WHAT!!" everyone exclaimed at the same time looking at him as if he was crazy.

"Hey you wanted my help so I'm giving it," he replied with a shrug.

I glanced over at Max thinking that she would rip him top shreds at anytime. She was trembling violently, but her gaze seemed distant as if she was looking at something only she could see.

"She talking with the Voice," Angel whispered next to my ear.

"You can tell?" I asked her surprised.

"I can hear them. She's having an argument with the Voice and her Eraser half." She suddenly winced. "How can she stand all the headaches?" she asked no one in particular.

"What are they talking about?" I asked her.

"Well Max wants to half kill Vince, her Eraser half just wants to plain slaughter him and the Voice is telling her to answer the question," she answered in a whisper so that the others couldn't over hear.

"You can't really half kill someone can you?" I asked her.

"Well Max thinks she can." I opened my mouth to respond, but Angel cut me off. "They're done talking."

"About a couple of weeks ago," replied Max to the absurd question.

"Can you be more specific?" asked Vince.

"Well now, let me see. I've been hunted by Eraser, playing hide and seek with Ghosts, walked through sewers, climbed through ventilation ducts, killed Ari who, by the way, has come back to life so I need to kill him again. I've barely had enough food to last me a day and I've driven a motorcycle off a building. Now let me see, I'm sure I'm missing something." A couple seconds of silence lapsed. "Oh that's right," she suddenly exclaimed breaking the silence. "I forgot to keep a calendar on me so that I can keep up with the dates. Because when you're running for your life, knowing what day it is, is so very important isn't it?"

If sarcasm could kill, more than one person would be dead by now. If it was a crime, she would be locked up for about 500 years.

"Will he never learn?" sighed Vince.

"You know what's wrong with him?" asked Max.

"Yeah," he replied. "He hasn't eaten for a long time so he's starving. His body must have shut down in order to keep the major organs working."

"That's impossible," complained Max. "He eats at the same time I do."

"He's a wolf and wolfs can only eat meat," he explained. "For him, it can only be raw meat. People can't eat raw meat so all of the meat we prepared in the bags are all cooked. Certain bags along the way contain raw meat in them so that Orphius doesn't kill himself."

"What does this have to do with breath freshener?" asked Nudge perplex. We all were, how does breath freshener factor in to all of this.

"The reason I asked about breath freshener is because raw meat leaves an acidic smell in the mouth. Orphius eats breath freshener after he eats raw meat to get rid of the smell."

"So all we have to do is feed him?" summarized Gazzy.

"Basically."

"When he wakes up I'm so going to kill him," announced Max. "A long slow painful death. He's going to wish he was never born."

We all sat around Orphius' bed waiting for him to wake up.

"Why does he get a bed?" complained Nudge.

"We've already been through this," sighed Angel. "He gets the bed because he's sick."

"And when he waked up he'll be dead," promised Max.

Slowly, his eyes opened revealing an unblinking yellow gaze so much like Max's. "Why are you guys all staring at me?" he asked.

"Well Orphiucus," started Max, "we ran in to a friend of yours and he told us why you fainted."

"Friend?" he echoed perplexed. "What friend?

"Hi Orphius." Vince popped up from behind Max.

"Not you," groaned Orphius. "What did you tell them?"

"Just that you almost died from not eating," he responded in a happy voice.

"When are they going to flood the system?" asked Orphius.

"Flood the system?" echoed Max looking startled.

"They're flooding it in about ten minutes," he replied.

"Flood the system?" asked Nudge, "what do you mean flood the system."

"Basically it's when this whole section is flooded with rain water to stop Itex coming this way," stated Orphius. "And I'm asking when it's going to happen."

"Oh in a couple of minutes," replied Vince casually.

"Are you trying to kill us!?!" we all demanded. This time Max shot a look that could burn hotter and brighter than even the flames of hell.

"Don't worry." He waved casually as if it happened everyday as he left the room. "Just follow me."

We all shared one glance before running after him. None of us wanted to take a bath in acid no matter how much fun it sounds like.

"See I told you we would get out in time," stated Vince proud of himself.

"Let us review how much time we had shall we?" reviewed Max. "We had five minutes to get out of there. Running as fast as we could, it would usually take us six minutes add on the fact that I'm carrying a pig over here." This received an indignant yelp from Orphius. "Not only that, but we're starving." She stopped and took a breath to continue. "We're lucky to get out of there at all," she summarized.

Vince however was no longer listening. "Come on we have to catch up with the rest of the group!!" he yelled from further up the tunnel.

Everyone exchanged a significant glance before sighing sadly and chasing after him.

"What do you sense?" Max asked Angel as we chased after him.

We were all taken back by the fact that she actually talked to Angel. "Well he's a lot smarter than he looks," she started. "And that he is in fact a girl."

"A girl?" everyone exclaimed in surprise except Orphius.

"Didn't you know that?" he asked surprised. "Vince is a girl in disguise because she's too young to be an Arc fighter so she pretends to be a man, an older man. She puts on that charade because most people don't bother looking past that show and they just see a simple man."

I gazed up and saw the figure of Vince standing there waving her arms, "Come on what's taking you so long? You better hurry up or all of the food will be gone."

At the mention of food, the whole Flock rushed over. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Max walking slowly a very sick wolf in her arms. Although there mouths were moving, I was too far away to hear what they were saying.

**A/N And here you thought when I wrote the breath freshener thing back in the other chapter I was trying to be funny. Updates will be back to normal because the holidays are over. Reviews would be nice.**


	19. Alone Again

A/N I can't believe this!! I cannot believe that the Black Caps lost again. I swear I'm going to. . . Going to 

**Okay, I'm fine now. I am calm again. There's quite a bit I'll be saying in the A/N so please bear with me. First of all, for some strange reason I can't seem to receive any PM's or Alerts or anything. I've you've sent me anything in this past week or two I haven't received it.**

**Secondly, if you remember correctly I said at the beginning of the story that you can tell me if you hate it completely as long as you provide a reason. Well, someone has finally taken me up on that offer. Becca Girl stated that she doesn't like it because Max is too mean and I can see why she would say that.**

**Thirdly, iluvzuzu stated that she was slightly confused over the wolfs name so I'll clear it up here. Basically Orphiuchus is his full name, but because it's too long to type and too award to say, people just call him Orphius. All other spelling is a mistake.**

**Fourthly, thanks to all reviewers and those who view this story. I don't know who you are, but thanks.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XVIII: Alone Again.

Max POV

The rest of the Flock ran on ahead to the fire hoping to catch some food before we continued on the rest of our journey. Instead of following them, I stopped and looked down at Orphius. After a couple of seconds, he seemed to realize that we weren't moving.

"What?" he asked me turning his yellow eye at me.

"Is this the only way to Arc?" I asked him.

"No," replied absent mindedly, "but it is the fastest way there."

"How much longer would it take to go another way?" I continued questioning him.

"Well the next shortest route would take about just over an hour longer," he answered. "The other ones will take over a day from there."

"An hour," I mused out loud.

"Why?" he asked me. After a couple seconds of silence in which I didn't answer him his eyes widened. "You've got to be joking," he stated.

"Where so I go from here?" I asked him. As seen as he knew what I was going to do, that saved some time from explanations.

He sighed sadly then perked up his head. "There's a man hole cover on top of the camp," he replied. "From there we travel above ground to the north. From there we go back in to the sewers and travel east."

"Why is it always sewers?" I moaned out loud.

"I've told you already," reminded Orphius.

"I know, I know," I replied annoyed.

"_Max this is not a good idea,"_ stated the Voice.

"_Are you going to offer advice or help?" _I demanded aggravated.

"_Max," _he warned.

"_Look Voice," _I started, _"I'm not going to be traveling with the Flock so you might as well help me out."_

A mental sigh came over the link we shared. _"You want me to shield your thoughts right?" _I blinked in surprise, I didn't think the Voice would actually help out. I guess there is a first for everything.

"_It's not as if you're going to listen to me Max, you've already made up your mind. If I argue you'll just get to Arc slower and be slower in saving the world and I don't want that," _he explained.

"_hurry up and shield my thoughts," _I told him.

"_Fine." _He sounded resigned. _"One, two, three, seven hundred and fifty four."_

"_What are you doing?" _I demanded.

"_The only way to shield your thoughts is to distract Angel," _he explained slowly as if I was an idiot. _"And this is the only way of doing it."_

"_Fine," _I accepted.

The Voice continued counting in the back of my head.

"Come on Max!!" yelled Nudge from the camp. "Hurry up all we'll eat everything!!"

Coming from Nudge, that was a miracle. That girl eats more than everyone else and talks more than everyone combined.

Still carrying Orphius in my arms, I walked over towards them.

"You know you can put me down," he complained. "I'm not some sort of baby that needs to be carried everywhere."

"If you say so," I replied and dropped him in to the water."

"Hey!!" he yelled. "That was so not funny." Standing up, he wavered slightly, but managed to stay up right. "Why did you do that?"

"You said I didn't need to carry you," I replied with a shrug.

Barring his teeth, he growled at me.

"She's got you there Orphius," announced Vince walking towards them.

"You stay out of this Vince," he shot back before stalking away towards a pile of raw meat.

"What's up with him?" she asked me.

"How am I supposed to know," I replied putting on an innocent face. "He told me to put him down and I did. I've got no idea why his tail's in a knot."

"MAX!!" called Nudge.

I winced at the yell. "I swear she could drive Mother Teresa to become an ax murderer," I told Vince.

"What only an ax murderer?" she asked me. "I thought it would worse than that."

I took a deep breath, held it for a couple seconds before exhaling, "Come on we better not make them wait any longer."

I woke to the soft prodding of Orphius.

"Leave me alone," I complained. "Just a couple more minutes."

"Max," whispered Orphius annoyed, "we've got to get going. It's dusk right now."

"Just a couple more minutes," I replied. I turned over trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly a wet nose was placed in the hollow of my throat. Startled by how cold it was, I sat straight up.

"What was that for," I demanded in a quite tone.

"It's time to leave," he reminded me. He must have seen the blank look on my face. "You're the one who no longer wanted to travel with Angel and the Flock." With his face so close to mine, I could smell the breath freshener he had used.

"That's right," I suddenly remembered.

Getting up, I borrowed a bag and collected up some food including some raw meat for Orphius. I am not risking his life again. After all, he's the one who knew where to go.

"So where's the man hole cover?" I asked him.

"Right above you," he replied.

Surprised, I looked straight up and saw that there was indeed an indent on the roof that looked a lot like a manhole cover.

"Guess we're going straight up then," I announced.

Before Orphius could say anything, I gathered him up in my arms and pushed off the ground. Reaching up, I pushed open the manhole cover letting light flood into the tunnel. Not only that, but a heavy gust of wind blew down almost blowing me down. Gritting my teeth, I pushed my wings to the limit.

"Well now that was fun," I panted as I flopped on to the ground.

Winds howled around us, wrapping us in her blanket. My hair billowed out behind me and my clothes flapped in the wind. Reaching back, I gathered my hair and pulled out a knife. With one deft cut, I shortened it so that it was around my shoulders and not my elbows. Lifting up my arm, I left go of the strands and watched them disappear in to the twilight.

"Some help would be nice," reminded Orphius as he tried to get the move the cover back in place.

"You seem to be handling it well," I remarked.

There was a loud thud as the cover slid back in to place.

"Could that have been any louder?" I asked him above the roar of the wind.

"Do you want it to be louder?" he asked me. "I'm sure I can make it extremely loud if you wanted me to."

"Sure we might as well," I replied. "Why not wake up those who are already asleep? We might as well walk in with a marching band and set off one of Gazzy's bombs while we're at it. Why don't we throw in a couple of lightning strikes while we're at it."

"You know something Max?" asked Orphius.

"What?" I shot back annoyed.

"You really need to get that sarcasm under control," he remarked.

"Come on," I ordered him, "We've got to get going."

He simply gazed up at the night sky. "A storm is coming," he stated simply. "We've got to find shelter as soon as possible."

"I know the wind is strong Orphius," I stated simply, "but there's not a cloud in the sky."

"Trust me Max," he stated. "A storm is coming and we've got to wait it out."

I opened my mouth to protest, but the Voice stopped me. _"Listen to him Max."_

"_Why should I?" _I asked him.

"_Trust me," _replied the Voice. Great not the Voice is asking me to trust him. What is the world coming to?

Looking up in to the night sky, I sighed sadly. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky and they wanted me to believe that there was a storm coming?

"Fine," I subsided at last. "We'll find shelter."

In that instant when I announced my attention, I could plainly see his relax. Nodding his head, he started walking off in one direction.

"Hurry up," called Orphius over the wind. "We don't have much time."

"Now where do you think you're going?" snarled a voice from behind us.

"Can't you just leave us alone?" I asked Ari.

"What are you talking about?" asked Orphius. "Of course he can't, he's a mutt and mutts follow their master." He turned his gaze and fixed it on Ari's face. "Either that or he's one perverted boy stalking his sister like this."

"I am not his sister," I told him evenly.

"Here's the deal Max," stated Ari, "you can come with me and your little wolf pal doesn't get hurt."

Lighting thundered above. Talk about on cue.

"So you've sunk down to threats have you Ari?" Orphius shook his head sadly. "I thought better of you."

"You stay out of this!!" he growled.

"Sorry, no can do. I think it's about time I got my share of killing you," he announced.

"Kill me?" he repeated amazed. "You can't kill me, you made me who I am. How can you kill your own creation?"

I blinked in surprise. Creation? What the hell is he talking about?

"Orphius?" I called out.

"You haven't told her?" The surprise in his voice was evident.

"I'll tell you after," he answered no looking back at me.

"Come on mutt," he taunted.

Snarling, Ari launched himself at Orphius. Faster than I would've thought possible, he dodged to the side and leapt up. Skipping back a step, Ari pivoted on his foot and brought the other one up aiming for Orphius' face. Twisting his body sideways, it sailed harmlessly past.

They circled each other slowly. Lunching blows testing out each other's weaknesses and strengths. A strike there, a swipe here. All used to test each other. Whether it was by coincidence or some shared knowledge, they both lunged at the same time. A flurry of blows were traded between the two as they both sought first blood. Disengaging from the fight, Orphius and a clear cut across his right foreleg while Ari and a gush across the side of his body.

Lightning shook the earth as the winds maelstrom zapped the air. Bolts of pure light struck all around rendering sight useless. Dark clouds gathered overhead. A storm was coming.

"We have to get out of here!!" I called. Did he hear me?

They continued to circle each other. Under the moonlight gaze, it was obvious that they were talking, about what I could say. All I know was that they were.

An explosion crackled through the air, shattering the noise of the storm. Startled, I looked over to where the sound came from and off in the distance, I could make a tower of some king. A long spire came out of the ground like enormous teeth. It seemed warped, evil as if it didn't belong.

"You got lucky Orphius, but I'll be the one to kill you," snarled Ari. Although it was said in a whisper, his words traveled across the gap and pierce the darkness.

Unfurling his wings, he jumped in to the night sky and veered off towards the tower that was the target of the bomb.

"Max you've got to hurry up!!" yelled Orphius as he raced across the plains.

"Wait up!!" I yelled after his as I chased him through ruins of a once glorious city.

Ruins lined the streets, the bones of those dead long ago decorated the buildings. Eroded cars and worn stone were littered everywhere. In the middle of the city was a marble statue, but it has long since been eroded away by the acid rain. All that was left was a statue that resembled melting ice.

"Where are we going?" I demanded.

The soft pitter patter of rain started to add to the melancholy music created by the storm. Wherever the rain touched my skin, I could feel it burn slightly. As quickly as it touched, I wiped it off.

"How much further is it?" I yelled out.

Without warning, he turned and entered a building. Skidding to a stop I followed him in. Orphius lay on the ground panting from the excursion.

"I don't think I should have done that," he remarked to no one in particular.

"What you mean fainting from lack of food, then fighting Ari and then running through a town while it was raining?" I asked him sweetly. "I think it was the smartest thing anyone could do. It's almost as smart as going swimming in an acidic lake."

"Hey you're the one who wanted to take this route," he reminded me.

"Go to sleep," I told him. "I'll take first watch."

"Yes mother," grumbled Orphius.

I glared daggers at him, but he was already asleep.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	20. Finally

**A/N I am annoyed. I've got three internals next week. I am going to be pooped at the end of it. Thanks to all those who revealed.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all except Orphius.**

Chapter XIX: Finally.

Total POV

I blinked my eyes slowly. Surveying my surroundings, I slowly extracted myself from Angel's arms. Still glancing about, I edged towards the campfire not making a sound. Footsteps slowly sounded from behind me. Diving to the side, I froze and held my breath. Slowly, a person walked past and the echoes of his footsteps died down.

Sticking my head out of hiding, I placed my nose up in to the air and my nostrils immediately filled with the scent of the people. Ducking my head, I sneezed a couple of times. Rubbing my poor nose, I continued on.

It took a while, but I eventually made it over. Walking over towards the sack, I placed my nose and scrounged around hoping for some food to eat.

"Total," reprimanded Nudge.

Startled, I whirled around and saw her standing there with her hands on her hip.

"This is not what it looks like," I told her walking backwards.

"Oh? What is it that you're doing then?" She arced her eyebrows advancing with each step.

Looking at her, I slowly moved backwards keeping an eye on her. I racked my brain for something I could say, but nothing came out. Luckily, I was saved.

"Nudge, Total!!" yelled Angel.

Out of pure instinct, we both jumped back and swiveled around. We immediately searched our surroundings for any and all exits and places where we can hide or at least keep up a strong defense while everyone gets away. It was only after Angel reached us did we realize that there weren't any Erasers after us at all.

"What?" I asked her after I had finally relaxed.

"Have either of you seen Max?" she asked us.

"No why?" we both replied at the same time perplexed.

"Angel!!" yelled Gazzy as he ran up panting.

"That wolf that was traveling with Max is also gone," he announced.

"Orphius is gone?" I asked him surprised. I had finally managed to talk to him tonight.

_I moved slowly towards him, trending quietly so that I would disturb him._

"_What?" he asked me without even bothering to turn._

_I stopped in surprise. He heard me? No one could have hearing that good. Except Iggy of course, he had the best hearing in the world._

"_I thought I asked you a question," he remarked._

"_What can't I take a walk?" I asked him._

"_You can, but I don't see the point as seen as you can walk over there and talk to Nudge," he stated. "Because you came here, you obviously have a question you want to ask me."_

_All I could do was stare at him in surprise. There was no way to fault his logic, but nonetheless I was amazed._

"_Are you going to ask the question or do I have to guess that as well?" He sounded irritated._

"_I suppose you could amuse me and try to guess," I told him._

_He turned to face and I felt those yellow wolf eyes focused on me. Their gaze seemed to penetrate and look straight in to my soul._

"_Very well then," he agreed. "You are probably going to ask me how come we can talk."_

"_Are you psychic?" I asked him._

_At my suggestion, he just laughed at me. "A psychic," he mused. "You're the first person to call me that." Throwing back his head, he laughed. "No I'm not a psychic. I'm better."_

"_Better than?" I echoed surprised. I then realized what he was trying to do. "Wait a second, stop trying to change the subject."_

_He chuckled slightly. "Very well," he acquitted. "What is it that you want to know?"_

"_Why is it that we can talk?" I asked him getting straight to the point. After all he had already guessed what I was going to ask._

"_You don't remember anything from before?" he asked me ambiguously._

"_Before?" I repeated perplexed. "What do you mean before?"_

"_If you don't know what I'm talking about then you don't have to worry about it," he replied._

"_Do you remember when you were born?" he continued with the questioning._

"_Yes," I replied hoping my tone would warn him._

"_Could any others from your litter able to talk?" he question._

"_Some," I replied truthfully, "but they died a few days after."_

_He nodded his head and then closed is eyes deep in thought. I waited patiently while he thought about it. Placing my head down on my paws, I gazed out and asw why he had chosen this spot._

_The camp was spread out in front of me, I could see everything that went on. This pile of rubble was the best vantage point anyone could have._

"_I think I know," he finally replied. "There is something known as the Missing Link."_

"_The Missing Link?" Man, I've got to stop repeating what everyone says._

_He simply nodded. "The Missing Link is a term a doctor made up. I can't recall his name, but he stated that the Missing Link is what separates humans from animals."_

"_You mean the ability to think?" I asked him._

_He shook his head. "The ability to talk," he simply stated. "Animals can thing and they can communicate, but not in English. If animals had this Missing Link then they could talk, keep history and rationalize their decisions."_

"_And you think who ever did this to me found that Missing Link?" I asked him._

"_I don't think," he replied annoyed. "I know. He found the Missing Link I know he did. There is no other explanation."_

"_What about you?" I asked him. "Were you also created this way?"_

_He simply laughed and turned around and walked off in to the shadows._

"Total?" called Angel concerned.

I blinked a couple of times than shook my whole body.

"Total?" she asked again.

"Yeah?" I replied, it was then that I saw their concerned faces. "What?" I asked them.

"You blanked out for a couple of seconds," answered Nudge.

"It looked really strange," added Gazzy.

"That's not important," I growled at them. "What's happened to Max and Orphius?"

"We don't know, all we know is that they've left," replied Gazzy.

"We were hoping that you might be able to catch their scent," contributed Angel.

I shook my head sadly. "It won't work," I told them. "The whole reason we're traveling through the sewers is to stop the Erasers from following us with our scents."

I walked around in a circle thinking. I could see their fallen faces even as I announced this. There was no way we could track them.

"Do you think she was kidnapped?" asked Vince.

I stared at her in surprise, where had she come from?

"I doubt it," replied Gazzy. "Max is one of the best fighters, if she was kidnapped she would put up one hell of a fight."

"She could have been drugged," suggested Nudge.

"We ate everything she did," I reminded them.

"What if she was tranquilized?" continued Vince.

"Not likely," I replied. "You would need a lot of tranquilizer to knock out Max and probably even more for Orphius."

"So what do we do?" asked Nudge concerned.

"We do the only thing we can do," replied Angel. "Nothing." Gasps sounded all around. "Max can take care of herself, what really matters is that we get to Arc and help out there."

Looking around, she waited for someone to disagree, but when no one did, she simply sighed and walked away.

I approached her from behind careful not to alert her. From the way her shoulders slumped to the way she sat, I could see that she was troubled. The look in her eyes when she walked away were haunted, she thought it was her fault. The last time she looked like that was when Iggy disappeared.

"What is it Total?" she called out. Damn it, why couldn't I sneak up on people? First Orphius and now Angel.

"It's because I heard you coming," she stated simply, "and I'm fine Total so don't even bother asking."

I hated it when she does that. "Look Angel, you're not alright," I sold her. "Something's troubling you and I can see it." I sat down next to her. "Tell what it is Angel."

She just sat there and didn't bother to talk to me. So I waited. For how long I can not say, all I know was that I sat there. Above us, I could hear the soft pounding of the rain on the tunnel.

"I knew Total," she finally admitted.

"What do you mean knew?" I asked her.

"Max," she replied her gaze distant, "I knew she was blocking something from, but I didn't try to pry. I thought she just wanted to keep her past from me."

"There was no way you could have known she was going to disappear," I soothed her.

"She ran away," she stated flatly.

I looked at her sharply. "How do you know that?"

"Before she blocked me out, I could hear her planning something with Orphius," she told me.

"You don't think she's going to give us away do you?" I asked surprised.

The idea that Max would betray us seemed, impossible. It just doesn't fit my memory of her. Then again, so much time has passed was my memory accurate anymore?

"The one thing that she hates more than me is probably Itex," she replied.

"She knows Fang is going to Arc as well," I reminded her. "Does she hate Fang more than Arc is the question."

"I don't think so," she replied. But for the first time in a long time, I noticed that she was uncertain. "I know something happened between them, but I don't what. Whatever it was though, hurt her deeply. More than anything anybody could do."

"Do you know what it could have been?" I asked her.

She simply shook her head and continued to stare off in to the darkness. Sighing, I lay down next to her and she absentmindedly scratched behind my ear making my tail wag.

We traveled for a couple more days underground. I don't know how many because everything was timeless, but I do know that it was a long time. Afterwards, we climbed out and traveled on foot before descended in to the sewers and found the entrance to Arc.

"Is this it?" I asked them. "Is this the last time we'll have to descend in to the sewers?"

"Yes," replied Vince. She pointed up ahead at the gaping tunnel mouth. "That's the entrance to Arc."

Standing up, we slowly made our way towards it. There were too many people so we had to go in, in three parts. The civilians would go first then the Arc members who weren't fighters and then finally we would go in. The first two had already gone in, so all that was left was us.

We stepped in and saw that it just kept on going. "What the hell is going on?" we demanded of them. "There's nothing here."

"Weren't you guys watching the other people?" they demanded us.

"No," I replied guilty. The truth was, we were stuffing our mouths full of food. We were barely getting enough food as it was and now that we were at the end of the journey, we might as well get our fill.

"Why what's meant to happen?" I asked them.

Suddenly, the floor below us dropped down slowly, like an elevator. We were all to surprised to make any noise. After a while, the platform started rotating.

"This is so cool!!" Obviously that was Nudge.

Before any of us could reply, it came to a shuddering halt and then it slide sideways.

"Won't people think it was strange that there's a perfect hole in the ground?" I asked them.

"Holograms," replied one person.

"Holograms?" echoed Angel. "You mean you stole hologram technology from Itex and then used it?"

"What happens if someone walked on it and fell to their deaths?" Gazzy exclaimed.

All of the Arc members exchanged a look.

"You haven't thought of that," accused Nudge.

Before anyone else could say anything though, it came to a shuddering stop before it rotated one last time and showed the splendor of Arc.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	21. Revelations

**A/N Well I realized that there hasn't been any book scenes lately, so I decided to throw one into this chapter. Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XX: Revelations.

Max POV

Once again we were being chased. Yep, you heard me, we're being chased yet again. You know something? It wasn't fun the first twenty times and it's not fun now and it will never be fun. But the Erasers just can't seem to get that through their heads. People say that you should always look on the bright side of things. Well I suppose the only bright side of things I can see is the fact that Ari wasn't here.

"I thought you wanted to kill Ari though," complained my Eraser half. "If Ari isn't here how can you do that?"

"_Now's not the time,"_ I retorted skidding to a halt and turning the corner. Bullets landed where I was standing a minute ago.

In front of me, Orphius was running for all he was worth. He still hadn't completely recovered, but you can't blame him, we Avian-Americans have better healing than he does. This exercise course though was really taking a toll and I don't know how long he could keep it up. A minute, an hour? Probably not even that.

Placing an extra burst of speed in to my running, I made it past Orphius and grabbed a door handle and swung it open.

"In here," I told him.

Startled, but with no better plan of action, leapt in with me close at his heels. Slamming the door behind me, I locked it and looked around. Dead end. Why me? Who hates me so much?

"That was smart Max," approved Orphius. "Lets stop running from the killer Eraser and lock ourselves in a room with no escape and no room to fight in and killer Erasers just outside the door."

"Can you close your yap and help me find a way out of here?" I demanded irritated. Sarcasm was one thing I did not need right now.

There was pounding at the door. Great now here comes the Erasers.

Pacing around the room, I tried to find an exit or at least a weapon I could use. _"Got an ideas?" _I asked mentally. All I received was silence.

"Do you smell that?" asked Orphius.

"Smell what?" I repeated perplexed.

"Air from the outside," he replied. His tone turned urgent, "There's a ventilation duct here."

"Where?" I demanded him. Moving around the room with newfound energy, we searched everywhere.

"Found it!!" called out Orphius.

He huddled silently under the floor as the Erasers searched above. We didn't dare move or make a sound. There wasn't that many and we could take them down if we were in perfect condition, but that was the thing, Orphius was nowhere near perfect condition.

It was dank and dark, cobwebs lined the walls. The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty space. The roof above us shock each time someone stepped raining debris down on us. After an eternity, they left the room. We sat in silence for a while longer until their footsteps disappeared down the hallway before we breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shouldn't they have smelled us?" I asked Orphius in a whisper.

"They should have, but I'm not too sure why they didn't" he admitted.

"A trap?" I thought out loud.

He nodded. I was afraid of that.

"Before you said that there was fresh air coming from here," I reminded him. "Does that mean that there is a way out?"

He nodded his head. It was only then that I realised I was holding my breath, letting it out slowly, I closed my eyes thinking.

"You need to follow the scent Orphius," I told him. "If they are indeed planning a trap than we need to get out of here."

Seeing the wisdom in her words, he nodded his head and lifted his snot in to the air. Taking a deep breath, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"The floor is wooden and below that is the sewers," he answered, "and the ventilation shaft is up ahead."

"So we break open the floor to lure the Erasers away while we climb in to the ventilation shaft," I announced.

"We'll have to wait a while so the sewerage properly infuses in to the wood here so that it'll mask our scent," he added.

"How long?" I asked him.

"Now that long," he replied. "Wolf noses are extremely sensitive so probably an hour or so."

"Do you think they're hear the sound?" I questioned.

"As long as there isn't too much noise it should be fine." I wanted to trust him, but the way he said it made me doubt him.

Holding up my hand, I felt them shift and warp into a claw. Taking a deep breath, I made a quick swipe cutting the floorboards neatly in half. Childs play. They splashed harmlessly in to the water below, the echo reverberating thought the tunnel.

"Anyone coming?" I asked in a whisper.

"No one," he replied.

Nodding my head, I continued cutting away at the floorboards each time stopping to make sure no one heard anything.

"I think it's about time we left," I told Orphius. "If I cut more boards away I'm afraid that the whole floor will collapse."

Moving slowly, we made our way towards the end of the tunnel. In front of us was the air duct Orphius had found.

Climbing in to it, we slowly made our way through the ducts. About halfway through, we heard multiple splashes from behind us and a lot of cursing.

"I think it worked," I told Orphius.

"You mean the diversion or the collapsing floor?" he asked me amusement tingeing his voice.

"Both," I replied while grinning like an idiot.

Dropping on to the ground, I looked around wondering where we were. Orphius was busy cocking his ear from side to side listening to sounds that I couldn't hear.

"Now before we were so rudely interrupted," I remarked out loud, "how much further do we actually have to go?"

"I believe we're here," he answered sounding surprised.

"Already?" I exclaimed fainting mock surprise. "Last time you said that we walked for a couple more weeks at least."

He answered with a low and menacing growl.

"So where's the entrance?" I questioned.

"You're standing on it," he replied.

"Well then hurry up," I demanded impatient.

"W have to do something first," he snapped back. His features softened taking on an almost impish grin, "Well at least you have to."

"What?" I demanded irritated.

"There should be a bag over in the corner." Walking over, I opened the bag and there was a scanner like those used in supermarkets.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" I demanded. "Issue out some groceries?"

He sighed sadly, "That produces a concentrated electric pulse that fries electronic equipment. It's especially designed to knock out certain parts of machine while keeping others working."

I made a continue gesture with my hands wanting him to get on with it.

"There's a chip in your arm Max," he stated simply. I blinked in surprise, I had completely forgotten about that. "Unfortunately, the nerves in the human body are also electronic pulses and so we have to use this to specifically target it so that it doesn't mess around with your nervous system."

How the hell did he know about it? Only three people know about it. Fang, Dr. Martinez and one other person.

The screen was covered with the inside of my head: images, words, photos, maps, mathematical equations.

_The hacker scowled, seeming more perplexed than mad though. __"It's weird," he said. "You guys don't have a computer with you?"_

"_No," Fang said. "Not even a cell phone."_

"_What about a Palm Pilot?" the hacker asked._

"_Nope," I said. "We're kinda more low-tech than that." Like having a Kleenex would be a huge step up for us._

"_A memory chip?" he persisted._

_I froze. Almost against my will, I slid my gaze over to Fang._

"_What kind of memory chip?" I asked, striving for casual._

"_Anything," the hacker said. "Anything that would have data on it that would interfere with my hard drive."_

"_If we did have a chip," I said carefully, "could you access it?"_

"_If I knew what it was," he said. "Maybe. What do you have?"_

"_It's small and square," I said, not looking at him._

"_Like this?" The hacker held up his fingers about three inches apart._

"_Smaller."_

_His fingers were half an inch apart. "__You have a memory chip this small?"_

_ I__ nodded._

"_Let me see. Where is it?"_

_I took a deep breath. "In me. It's implanted in me. I saw it on an X-ray."_

_He stared at me with horror in his eyes. He turned off his laptop and closed the lid. "You have a memory chip that small implanted in you," he verified._

_I nodded, guessing this was somewhat worse than having cooties._

I nodded my head absorbing everything that he said. I had a lot of question to ask him, but I settled with, "Do you have x-ray vision?"

Silence.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Why are you asking about that?"

"Well I have to see where the chip is to be able to neutralise it with this," I answered waving it about. "As seen as I don't have x-ray vision to see it, I asked if you did."

"Well, we were hoping that the Voice would tell you where it is," he replied.

"We?" I questioned raising my eyebrow.

"Never mind," he replied. "Just ask the Voice."

I grounded my teeth, but made a mental note to ask about it later.

"_Voice?" _I silently called out.

"_Yes Max," _replied the Voice

"_I need you to tell me where the chip is," _I told him.

"_I can do one better," _he replied smug. Without warning, a red cross appeared on my arm. _"X marks the spot."_

Picking up the scanner, I placed it on top of the cross and squeezed the trigger. At first I felt nothing. No pain. It was only until later, did I realise that I felt absolutely nothing. I know, it sounds strange, but it was as if it was completely numb. Looking at my arm, I closed my fingers and then opened them. Strange, I saw them move, but I didn't feel it.

You see, the thing is, we take everything for granted. It was only now when I couldn't feel my arm, could I even remotely imagine what it would be like if I didn't have an arm. Tie an arm behind your back and try to get through a day and see what happens.

"You all right?" asked Orphius.

"Yeah," I replied, "I'm fine."

"What about your arm?" he questioned concerned.

"Numb, but fine," I replied.

"It should pass in about an hour," he replied.

"You knew about this?" I shot him a look.

"We knew there a possibility that you could lose your arm completely," he replied averting his eyes.

"You mean I could have lost the use of my arms?" I demanded. And the psychiatrists asked me why I had trouble trusting people. Well, I'm sorry to say it's because of:

The person I hated most in the world.

Angel and the Flock, but mainly Angel.

Jeb and the fact the he &( screwed us over.

The Whitecoats

The Voice and now I can add Eraser Max to the list although they have been helpful I'll give them that.

Need I go on? Because I can if you want.

Is this is in order from those I hate the most.

As you can see I hate a lot of people. Don't know how long the list is, but it can easily reach Z. Sure the Whitecoats did this to us, but how many times has people looked up into the sky, saw birds and thought, "Wow, I wish I could fly."

The great thing is, we can. The down side, Erasers. Now, I wonder where they would come in my list.

"Max?" asked Orphius still not looking at me.

"Are we going to Arc or are we going to sit here and talk?" I asked him.

"I suppose we go to Arc," he sighed. Standing up, he moved over towards the wall.

"Not so fast," I called out tackling him to the ground.

"What?" he asked looking up at me.

"First you are going to answer a question," I told him.

"And what would that be?" he inquired showing false bravado.

"How did you know that was the only line I knew in French?" I asked him,

He blinked a couple of times, obviously he didn't expect that question.

"Answer it," I ordered him.

He shook his head sadly. "Can I at least have some dignity?"

Nodding my head, I got off him, but sat down in striking distance.

"Well do you want the long version or the short?" he asked me.

"Long," I replied indifferently. "We've got enough time."

"The truth or lie?" he inquired again.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" I demanded.

"Fine," he sighed. "You might as well make your self comfortable. This will take a while."

"You see it all started when I was a foetus," he began, but before he could continue any further, Max interrupted.

"I asked for the reason not your life story," I told him.

"You said you wanted the long version," he told me simply. "No don't interrupt or this will take even longer."

"Now you see, I was the child of one of the Whitecoats at the School." I don't know whether he could see my reaction or not, but he continued on. "Not any lab worker, one of the higher ranking ones. From a young age I was trained to take over her position. I knew everyone and everything that they did. They told me they were trying to save the world. Back then they told me that they were creating a person that was going to Save the World and that it was my mission to help guide her to that destiny."

Now I was getting angry. Sure I was totally engrossed in his tale, but I was still put out by this person who I thought was a friend and turned out to be a Whitecoat.

"Depending on how you look at it, my age differs. I was a human for eighteen years, a wolf for the past four and I've lived for a total of 22 years. I was born four years before you were Max."

"You see the School as being in league with the Itex, but that's a lie. You see Itex was the one that was killing the world, the one you were meant to stop. Back then, the School was foolish, we thought we were untouchable because what Itex didn't own, out benefactor did."

"Over the years leading up to the events four years ago, starting before I was born, Itex had already started infiltrating our organisation. And those like the FBI and Navy, They had already begun their master plan."

"About a year before their takeover, they discretely assassinated the heads of the School, including my mother." I opened my mouth to ask a question, but he beat me to it. "My mother was Anne, Max."

Have you ever felt as if everything you knew was shattered? Well I have, in fact this was about the third? Fourth time I think. There was Jeb, Angel and the one that I hated the most. Yep this was the fourth time.

I know I should be shocked and tried to deny everything, but after what's happened to me through the years, I just didn't care anymore. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it long ago. Not only that, but Arc trusted him.

"But you see, before she was killed, I was targeted as well. I was the prime target. My mother was the Headmaster so they tried using me as a hostage."

"Well you obviously are alive," I remarked. "After all you're here."

"You see. I did die. Sure I'm here now, but that's why I'm here in this body." I just stared at him. He had died? "You see, they failed to save my body, but they managed to save my mind. They decided to implant it in to a wolfs body because that was the animal they had used most often so they knew it best. They only had one chance and they took. And so here I am today." That last sentence was said with a flourish.

There was a moment of silence. As if he expected something to happen.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked me.

"Like what?" I replied confused.

"I mean look at what the School had done to you," he expanded. "Aren't you just a bit annoyed or pissed off at me?"

"Not really," I replied with an indifferent shrug. "You've had lots of time to do whatever you wanted. Arc obviously trusts you. Why should I question them?"

"I've been thorough enough life shattering experiences to not really be surprised about anything. Also I've found out that overreaction in these situations come back and bite you on the ass." I sat down on the ground. "Does that mean you were one of the people who operated on Ari?"

He shook his head. "You are partially right in the assumption that I was the one who had operated on Ari, but that was only the time I revived him and gave him wings. His operation was the one first one I was in charge of."

"You should have let him die," I told him simply.

"I wish I did," he replied sadly.

"Are you ready?" he asked me.

"For what?"

Stepping towards the wall, he pressed his snot towards a panel in the wall. There was a slight grating sound before all I could see was darkness.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	22. Long Time No See

**A/N A couple people hated me for the last chapter. Well, you'll probably want to kill me by the end of this chapter and when the next chapter comes up. . . Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all except Orphius.**

Chapter XXI: Long Time No See

Max POV

I waited patiently. Yes you heard me, I waited and I used the P word okay? Get over it. One learns patience when they are locked up in a mental institute. Trust me, I know. I was locked up for four years because of Angel and Fang and they're going to pay. They are going to pay dearly.

Off in the distance, I could make out a light. Great, now it's the whole light at the end of the tunnel thing, can't these Arc people be less melodramatic? First it's the shifting floor thing and now it's the whole light at the end of the tunnel. Stop being cliché and be original for once.

"You okay?" asked Orphius.

His voice came from my left, yet I couldn't see anything. I doubt I could see my own hand in front of my face right now because that's how dark it is.

"I'm fine," I replied. "But what's up with all of this?"

"All of what?" he asked perplexed. I wish he could see me, that way he would have died from the glare I gave him.

Seriously though, I could tell if he was joking or not. So, I simply growled at him.

His laughter rung out echoing back around us. It wasn't his usual laugh. His usual laugh seemed a bit strained, but this, this was different.

It was only then that I fully realized how much stress Orphius had been under. The amount of pressure that was piled on while we traveled above ground. It was his job to get me here despite the odds. The weather, the Erasers, the Ghosts, even keeping me from killing Angel and the Flock probably.

"_So you finally understand," _commented the Voice.

"_Understand?" _I asked him confused.

"_It's necessary for the Flock to be alive in order for you to save the world," _replied the Voice. _"Every single one of them."_

"_You've got to be joking!!" _I raged at him. _"I've waited over four years for a chance of revenge and here you are telling me I can't get it!!"_

A pressure started building up behind my eyes. I could feel a headache starting to build. But I simply ignored it and continued screaming at him. How dare he, how dare he. I am going to kill him if it's the last thing I do. I will not be thwarted when I am so close to my goal. He was here and I'm going to kill him.

"_MAX!!" _yelled the Voice placing all his force behind it.

Crying out, I crumpled on to the ground. All I was conscious of was the sickles being pounded into my head. Those white hot blades that seared my brain. Lights danced before my eyes, my life came back flashing before my eyes. I guess what they say about death is true then. Those moments before you die, your life really does flash before your eyes. I always thought that was a lie, but apparently not. This is probably the worst way to find out though. Lying here, meters from my destination, almost at the end of my quest and here I was dieing. Looks like the Voice really did not want me to kill Fang after all. No matter, now I won't be able to.

I dimly remember occurrences like this happening before. Every time though I just wanted to die, this time I was dieing. At least I think I am. Come on give me a break, I'm in pain, you don't expect me to make much sense do you?

Oh well, this was fun while it lasted, but it seems like I'm going. Goodbye world.

I blinked my eyes several times. I think I've killed my head. Talk about killer migraine. I would rather have a dislocated joint plus a bunch of killer Erasers than this. Strange, I can't see anything.

"_Welcome back Max," _stated the Voice. Even spoken softly and in my head, it felt as if my head was being split down the middle.

"Go away," I muttered under my breath.

"_Not yet Max," _replied the Voice. _"I'll only go away once you promise that you won't kill Fang."_

"_As if I can with this killer headache," _I hissed back. _"Thank you ever so much. This is the best present I've ever gotten."_

For once, the Voice decided to shut up and not reply. Good choice Voice, I'm in a bad mood and I might just bite off someone's head.

Reaching up, I lifted my hand up and touched my eyes. I know that they're open, but I can't see anything and that probably scares me the most. I just can't imagine being blind. I don't get how Iggy managed to deal with it. I felt a soft fabric under my fingers. A blindfold. Why the hell would they bother with a blindfold when I'm out cold. What would I do? Glare people to death?

"Max?" whispered Orphius.

Clenching my teeth, I bit down hard on my lips to stop me from crying out. Once I had everything under control, I finally replied, "What?"

"Are you fine?" he replied in an even softer voice. He must have gotten the hint then. Give the boy a bone to chew on.

"OF course I'm fine," I answered sarcasm flying in every direction. "It is so much fun when the Voice decides to go on a rampage and splits your head open. You should try it sometime. I know I will once I've recovered. It's as fun as bathing in acid."

"Calm down Max," he soothed.

"Why do I have a blind fold on?" I shot at him.

"The doctors are afraid that the light would make the headache unbearable," he answered. "So they decided to place a blindfold on for now."

"How long?" I asked him.

"A day or two," he replied in a muffled voice.

"A day or two?" I echoed looking over to where his voice came from.

"That's really scary you know," he stated.

"What is?" I asked him accompanied with a sweet smile.

"The fact that you're looking straight at me," he replied.

In response, I gave him my best vampiric smile. Sitting up, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Standing up shakily, I held out my hands using the walls to guide me like how I had seen Iggy do when he was first blind.

"What are you doing?" he asked concerned.

"What does it look like?" I snapped at him. "You can either help me or you can go away. Make up your mind."

After a couple of seconds standing still, I felt soft luxurious fur brushing past my leg. Reaching down, I gasped a handful of Orphius' fur and let him guide me.

"There's a cane over here," he replied. "We thought you might want to move around so we prepared this for you."

Nodding my head, I held out my hand and accepted it. It was cold to the touch and it seemed wet.

"Did you bite this?" I asked him.

Even though I couldn't see his face, I still wiped my hand on my shirt. It was wet, it was slimy, what else do you need?

"Hey," he complained. "That's insulting."

I tapped him _lightly_ on the head with the cane he had given me. Sure it was light, but come on, it's made out of metal after all. It must have hurt, it should have hurt, it did hurt.

He yelped in surprise. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"Just hurry up and lead me outside." Lifting up the cane, I made a gesture as if to hit him again.

"Fine," he replied before stalking out of the room with me at his heels.

"Where are we going?" I slowly felt the door trying to find the handle. How the hell did Iggy cope?

"To see the leader," he replied.

Stepping through the door, I was greeted with silence. Strange. This was meant to a base after all why was it so quite?

"We're in the hospital," Orphius stated answering my unvoiced question.

"Well we better hurry up then," I whispered to him. "We don't want tot keep the Arc leader waiting."

Laying a hand on Orphius, I followed him as we moved through the rooms. In my other hand I held the cane tapping the floor to make sure there wasn't any uneven ground.

Orphius stopped, following his lead, I slowed my pace and reached out with my hand feeling for the door handle. Upon placing my hand on it, I turned it slightly.

"Before we go through the door," started Orphius, "it's best to warn you that some of them are less than respectable."

"Less than respectable?" I questioned raising my eyebrows. "Isn't that a nice way to put it?"

"You know what I mean," I growled at me.

"I've handled Erasers," I reminded him. "How hard can a couple of humans be?"

"You're blind," he replied bluntly.

"I had not realised that," I replied sounding surprised. "I'm blind, I should have known it. All my life I thought there was something wrong with me and I turns out I'm blind." I snapped my fingers in frustration. "I always thought that I was deaf. Well that's what my parents tell me anyway."

I don't know what his response was, but there was silence. He was probably looking at me strangely.

"You know something Max?" he asked me sweetly. "Your sarcasm can kill."

"Or so people tell me." Turning the handle completely, I opened the door.

Sound immediately slammed in to me. Staggering backwards, I covered my ears. Great, tomorrow, I'm going to have one blinding headache.

Walking forwards, I closed the door behind me and stood up shakily.

"You okay?" asked Orphius. Before I could reply, he added hastily, "Don't answer that. I'll probably get a bunch of sarcastic remarks."

"Just show me the way to the bloody room," I told him.

Reaching out, I laid my hand on his fur before continuing on our way. Most people decided to let the blind girl and the extremely large wolf past, but not all of them. It seemed as if Orphius has a reputation or something. As he walked past, many were whispering. Well I suppose they could be talking about me.

"Who's the pretty girl?" called a voice.

Pretty girl? I really hope he's not talking about me otherwise. . .

"Why don't you come by room latter?" asked a voice next to my ear. I felt a hand sliding down my back and touching my ass.

Man is he going to regret doing that.

"I suggest you leave before you get hurt," I replied in a cold voice.

"Would you look at that boys," he called out making me wince. "She's got some fight in her." He turned his attention back to me. "I like a girl with some fight."

Under my hands, I could feel Orphius tensing. Before he could react, I smiled sweetly and then swung my cane as hard as I could.

I could hear bones being broken and feel the vibration travelling up my arm made me grit my teeth. It was all worth it though. Especially when I heard him thump to the ground.

"Poor pathetic humans," I muttered to myself.

Turning around, I started walking away when a voice stopped me.

"Oh My God Max, I can't believe you just did that," ranted Vince. "I mean that was so cool. I wish I could have done that. Come Max give me the cane, I want to go back and thrash him some more. Please Max? PLEASE?"

"Calm down Vince," I told her. "Who did I just whack anyway?"

"Some good for nothing snob," replied Orphius with a contemptuous snort.

"He thinks he's the best fighter ever, but he's like, not," started Vince.

"I've got to get going Vince," I told her. "The Arc Leader wanted to see me."

"Oh if the Arc Leader wanted to see you, I can't very well keep him waiting can I?" she asked sweetly. From the fact that she was no longer talking, I guessed she had gone.

"I would hate to see them two chatting," I told Orphius under my breath.

"Which two?" Orphius asked perplexed.

"Nudge and Vince," I replied.

"Vince only acts that way around other Arc members," he reminded me. "But I get your point."

"Is this the door?" I inquired as turned the door handle.

"Yep, that's the room," he replied.

Stepping in, I closed the door behind me.

"Hey watch it," he yelped. "You almost caught my tail."

"Sorry," I replied. Suddenly I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

I just simply shook my head and waved his question away. He grumbled something that I couldn't make out and then we both faced the person. At least I thought he was there.

Silence. How long it lasted, I don't know, but it seemed like it lasted forever.

Finally it was broken. "Long time no see Max."

That voice. I knew that voice. It's haunted me for so long. His rejection still hurt and hearing him say my name didn't help at all.

Fang.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	23. Past

**A/N This whole chapter is in the past and it explains why Max left in the first place. Looks like you'll just have to wait one more chapter to find out what Max will do to Fang. And so many reviews. Wow. I never truly expected to get into three digits. Thanks everyone.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XXII: Past

Max POV

"How much longer do we have to go?" complained Gazzy.

"We're almost there," I replied. "A couple more days and we should reach Ella's house in a couple more days."

"Max can we have something to eat?" begged Nudge. "We've been flying for hours now and the last time we ate was like a million years ago."

I glanced over at Fang asking a silent question.

**You will obey me Max. I want to become leader. Let me become leader.**

I winced slightly as Angle started pushing at me with her mind yet again. It's been going on for a long time now. Angel wanted to be leader, but she was too young to handle the responsibility. Far too young. Erasers hounding at our trail was no help either.

Fang must have seen my wince and moved over closer.

"The Voice?" he whispered.

"Yeah," I replied.

I still hadn't told anyone. They all thought it was the Voice that was hurting when in fact it was Angel. The Voice has been strangely silent all day, not a peep. Whether this was a good thing or not, I've got no idea.

"It's almost night," commented Fang looking off to the left.

Following his gaze, I saw that he was right. It was already descending in to twilight. The towers were jagged teeth coming out of the ground. A leaf thin golden line hovered above the ground. Lights slowly flickered off in the distance. They seemed minute flames flickering off in the distance.

Just let me be the leader Max. You know you want to. I could do a better job than you can.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes trying to block out the pain. It wasn't her words that hurt me. It was the force behind them. The will power that she pressed on me. Sure the words did hurt, after all I've been looking after her since she was a child and now she turns on me. But what could I do?

Fang raised an eyebrow at me. Without realizing it, I was staring at him. Slowly, a blush crept on to my cheeks as I quickly glanced away.

The only reason I had survived so long was probably because of Fang. Whenever I'm with him, I feel safe. I can tell him everything. Well almost everything.

"_Tell him Max," _urged my Voice.

"_Go away,"_ I told him.

"_You should tell him Max,"_ he repeated himself.

"_He'll just reject me,"_ I replied. _"I've got to look after the Flock. They come first."_

"_Trust me Max. Tell him how you feel."_

Before I could reply with one of my sarcastic comments, its presence disappeared from my mind.

"Fang," I called out.

He immediately appeared next to me startling me.

"Find somewhere safe for us to make camp," I whispered to him.

Even though I was talking as quietly as possible so that the others couldn't hear me, Iggy could.

"We're finally stopping guys," he announced. His announcement was greeted with cheers.

I shot him a glare. But, thanks to his 'condition' he couldn't see it. That never stopped him from building bombs though. Or picking locks. How he got those pick locks I had confiscated forever, I'll never know.

"Down there Max," pointed Fang.

I nodded my head. It was cave on the cliff face. From this distance, it seemed as if it could easily hold all of us without it becoming cramp. Not only that, but there was a shrub in the entrance of the place disguising it from those who didn't have raptor vision.

**You can't hold out against me forever Max. I will become leader of the Flock. I can protect them better than you ever did.**

Go away Angel. Just go away and let me rest in peace.

**Why don't you leave them? That way you won't have to bother with us at all. You can rest as much as you can.**

Walking in to the cave I sat down and held my head between my hands willing the headache to stop.

"You okay Max?" asked Fang as he sat down next to me. "You seem to be getting headaches more often now then you used to."

"I'm fine," I replied. "The Voice just has more stuff to say."

He didn't even have to ask the question. We've been together long enough to know what each other is thinking.

"The usual. 'You've got to save the world Max'" I told him.

I didn't add the fact that it wanted me to tell him my feelings. I didn't want to break up our friendship over something so trivial. I didn't want to break up the Flock over something like that.

I guess I was partially afraid though. For as long as I could remember, I've always relied on Fang. He's always been there when I needed him. He knew everything about me, including my fears, hopes and dreams. There was nothing he didn't know about me. I could always rely on him.

He sat there staring at me. I knew he knew there was something I wasn't telling him, but he didn't press me to reveal it to him either. He just sat there waiting to see if I was going to tell him and if I didn't he would know I wasn't ready yet.

After a while, he nodded his head. "I've got first watch," he announced. "Get some sleep we'll be moving out early tomorrow."

You see Max, even Fang is a better leader than you are.

Clenching my teeth, I reached in to my backpack for the water bottle I had in there. Taking a deep gulp, I settled down for the night.

A full moon hung in the sky. I gazed up at it longingly. I wish I was flying. Flying at night. . . it's always been my favorite time for flight. The cool night breeze. The sound of the silence. It was a refreshing change from Nudge's continuous complaining. A change from Angel's constant pushing of her mind to make her become leader. A couple more days of that and I'll go insane. I don't know long I can keep her away. How much longer before she goes to the next level and pushes me to the point of breaking.

Standing up, I opened my wings. The cool night breezed caressed the feathers sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. Closing my eyes, I walked over towards the edge of the ledge. I wanted to jump off the ledge and let everyone take care of themselves. I wanted to leave my responsibilities behind me. To run from it all.

I didn't want to save the world. I never wanted to become the leader of a bunch of Avian Americans, let alone one who wanted to take over. I didn't choose to fall in love with Fang. I doubt he even felt that way about me. To him, we were just friends. If he wasn't here, I probably would have surrendered long ago. He was the only one that was keeping me going.

"Max?" came a voice from behind me. Oh my god. It was Fang, what was he doing here. I took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. "You all right?"

"I'm fine Fang," I replied. He just stared at me.

"Max don't lie to me," he reprimanded. "I know something is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong. I'm perfectly fine," I reported to him.

He continued to stare at me.

"Then why are you about to leave?" he whispered sounding concerned.

I blinked in confusion. Leave? Who said anything about leaving. It was only then that I realized what it must have looked like from Fang's view. Here I was standing with my wings unfurled at the ledge of the cliff, if I wasn't leaving what else could I be doing.

"I'm not leaving," I told him.

To prove my point, I closed my wings slightly. Footsteps sounded behind me as he walked over towards me.

Placing his hands on my face, he turned my head so that I looked in to his eyes. I could stand there forever and just gaze into his eyes. I lost myself in there.

"Are you sure you're fine?" he asked for the final time.

"If you ask that one more time I might just have to kick your butt," I told him sternly.

To my surprise, he chuckled slightly at what I had said.

"You. Kick my butt," he echoed skeptically.

"Hey don't push your luck mister," I warned him pushing.

"That was what I was about to say to you," he replied. Placing a hand in his coat pocket, he tossed me something.

Reaching up, I caught it instinctively. Bringing it down, I looked at what it was I had caught. A coke bottle.

"Thanks." Opening it up, I took a grateful sip.

We sat in silence. There wasn't any need for words. We were completely comfortable in each other's company. Sometimes, words just can't describe everything and they just simply get in the way. This was one of those times. All I can say was that it was a peaceful silence.

"Fang," I called out.

"Yeah," he replied.

I don't know what came over me then. I just sort of blurted it out. "I love you," I whispered.

Instantly that gentle silence turned awkward. I guess I had startled him with my revelation. After all I've spent so much time hiding it from him that I doubt anybody knew about it.

"Max," he started regret tingeing his voice.

Before he could say anything else I started shaking my head. No, this couldn't be happening. I had told him that I loved him and yet.

"I'm sorry Max, but I just don't love you," he continued. "Not like that anyway."

No, this couldn't be happening. Could it.

"_I thought you told me to trust you!!" _I screamed at my Voice.

"_I'm sorry Max," _replied the Voice.

"_How could you do this to me?" _I demanded. _"I trusted you and at where that got me!!"_

"Max?" questioned Fang a concerned look on his face.

"Don't play games with me Fang," I growled at him.

We stared at each other in surprise. For some reason, my voice sounded layered, as if two people were talking at the same time. The other voice, it belonged to my Eraser half.

"Max?" he repeated himself.

"Is that all you can say?" I demanded of him. "I pour my heart to you and simply tell me that you don't like me!!"

"Max, I'm sorry, but I can't very well lie to you." He tried to soothe me, but it was no use.

Turning my back to him, I jumped off the cliff and opened my wings.

"MAX!!" he called after me.

Ignoring his yells, I activated my super speed and disappeared off in to the night sky. Fang was the only who had kept me going, now I had lost him as well.

The world blurred below me. Trees, seas, buildings, they are blurred together until all that was left was a spray of colors. Tears blinded my sight. All I wanted to do was get away from here. Away from this god forsaken place. Screw Fang, screw the Flock, screw my destiny.

"_Stop being childish Max," _admonished the Voice.

"_Screw You!!"_ I yelled at the Voice before blocking him out.

Trembling with fatigue, I dropped on to the ground. For how long I had been traveling, I do not know. All I know was that it was almost day break. Stumbling to the ground, I could feel tears leak down my face. I had thought I had run out, but apparently not.

Why? Why me? I never wanted any of this. Why?

I pounded the ground with my fist wanting to kill something, anything. But, I was too tired. Too emotionally tired. I probably couldn't fight off a dust bunny in my state. And that was not a good thing. After all I've got Erasers after me.

Taking a deep shaking breath, I willed myself to stand up. I wasn't safe, not yet anyway. No matter where I went, Erasers would find me. I needed somewhere safe to stay, somewhere Erasers couldn't gain access to.

There was only one place that had security that tight. Mental Institutes.

Well, it would be easy to fake my way in to there. I doubt I had to fake it at all. After all, I had two voices in my head. My Voice and my Eraser Half. Who need fakery when you're indeed insane?

**A/N So there's the explanation. The bolded words were Angel's mind commands.**


	24. Skills

**A/N Thanks for all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXIII: Skills.

Max POV

Despite the headache I knew that was going to develop if I took of my blindfold, I decided this could qualify as an exception. After all I lost four years thanks to him. The least I could do was pay my respects. . . Once he was dead.

"_Remember what I said Maximum,"_ cautioned the Voice.

He never used my full name. The way he said it reminded me of the way Dr. Martinez had talked to Ella when she was being disobedient.

_Dr. Martinez creased her forehead, thinking. "It would be dangerous for you to strain your injury before it's healed. I couldn't tell the extent of it. But I could give you a better idea if we had an X-ray."_

_I looked ay her solemnly. "Do you have X-ray vision?"_

_She laughed, startled, and I couldn't help grinning to. God, Ella had this all the time. A real mum._

"_No. Not all of us have superhuman powers," she said teasingly. "But some of us have access to X-ray machines."_

Where had that come from? I hadn't thought about Ella and her mum in so long. I wonder if they're all right?

Shaking my head to clear it, I felt a wave of pain reach my head causing me to wince slightly. Well, at least I was thinking straight now. Despite the pain.

Reaching up, I slowly untied the blindfold letting them drift slowly to the ground as I let go. Taking in a deep shuddering breath, I prepared myself for the assault that was clearly going to come. How bad could it be? It can't be that much worse than what the Voice has done to me.

Opening my eyes, I blinked a couple of times as I waited for them to adjust. And just as I predicted, there was indeed a blast of pain that made me stumble back a couple of times.

"You okay?" asked Orphius.

"Fine," I lied through gritted teeth.

I could see him about to reply, but a hand laid on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up and gave Fang a questioning glance.

"There's no point talking to her when she's like this," he replied in that slow deliberate tone if his.

Raising my gaze, I saw him for the first time after four years. I didn't know what I expected. I thought he would have changed after so long, but he seemed so similar and yet different at the same time.

He was slightly taller than what I remember him to be by about a couple of inches. His hair was brushed back to reveal his eyes. That's probably the only thing that hadn't changed. Those eyes of his. I could still feel myself being devoured by them.

The greatest change was the weariness I saw in them. It's not to say the life style I used to live wasn't tiring, it's just that he seemed more emotionally and mentally drained than before. In the past, it was always physical exhaustion, but now he seemed as if he had worked too much. Similar to what Dr. Martinez looked after she had performed a hard surgery.

"Give me one reason as to why I shouldn't kill you now?" I growled at him.

"How about the fact that you need me to save the world?" he asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine how about three?" I retorted. Who the hell had told him about that?

"I told you there was no talking to her when she's like this," he remarked to Orphius.

Marching over, I grabbed his shirt and slammed him on to his desk spilling ink everywhere.

"Now you listen here Fang," I whispered to him in a menacing voice. "I would gladly gut you and hang you outside as the vultures slowly ate you. Unfortunately, the Voice says I need you in order to save the world." Leaning closer I whispered in his ear so he alone could hear. "But he never said anything about afterwards."

His only reply was a raised eyebrow. _Finished?_ That's what his look said. I had seen him use it on the Whitecoats multiple times after he had been tortured.

Letting go, I stepped back and waited for his reaction.

Standing up, he straightened his shirt and then dusted himself off. Bending over, he started tiding up his desk.

Once he was done, he faced me calmly. "That's all very nice Max, but your forgetting something," he stated simply.

At his words, I could feel my heart jump. The way he spoke was everything about the old Fang that I loved. He was calm and a person that could be trusted.

"What's that?" I asked him putting on a face of bravado.

He just gave me a brief smile that seemed top light up the room. "That's for you to find out." Before I had time to think of a response, he had vanished out the door.

There was a stunned silence as the door creaked slowly shut.

"I can't believe that jus happened," he stated just above a whisper.

"Can't believe what just happened?" I asked him.

"I can't believe that he just smiled," he stated in a stunned voice. "I've never seem him, smile before." Turned to face me. "The worlds going to end."

"That's not funny," I told him. "The world already has a good chance of ending." I shot him a glare. "It doesn't need you jinxing it."

"Hey," he complained. If he were human, he would have raised his hands as well. "I was just saying that it was impossible."

"Nothing's impossible," I replied from old habit.

Hey what could I say? Years of philosophical debates with the Voice had engraved and automatic response in to me.

"Whatever," he snorted.

Standing up, he started walking over towards Fang's table and pulled open a drawer. Reaching inside, he started poking around looking for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

Sure I had said that I trusted him because he was trusted by Arc, but this is seriously not helping. After all he used to be a Whitecoat. What can I say, old prejudices die hard.

"Looking of something," he replied.

Before I could say anything. He exclaimed in triumph and padded over to me and dropped something down in front of me.

Reaching down, I wiped it and read the label on it.

_Panadol._

Unscrewing the lid, I downed two tablets dry before passing it back to him.

"How long will it take before the acts?" I asked him as I choked on the taste of the tablet.

"A couple of minutes," he replied.

I shot him a look that needs no explanation.

"Hey that's all it says," he protested.

I leveled my gaze.

The sound of soft music filled the air. It was an old tune from a long time ago. It was slow and had a waltz feel to it. It sounded familiar, but I could place it.

"He's still using that song," remarked Orphius disgusted. Walking over towards the door, he pushed it open and stuck his head out. "PHONE FANG!!" he yelled.

Closing the door he lay down next to me and waited patiently. His yellow gaze glowing in the darkness.

"You know that did not help my headache at all right?" I asked him.

"Oh I'm sorry," he replied getting hurt. "But this might be an important call and Fang has to take it."

"Where did Fang get all the money for this anyway?" I asked him. "Look at all of the technology that's here. The hydraulic platforms must have cost a fortune by themselves."

"You're right," he replied looking away. "All of this did cost a lot, but I'm not the one who should tell you where the money came from, that's Fang's job."

The ring tone was cut off. "This is not a good time," he snapped.

I blinked in surprise. How the hell did Fang get in here with out me knowing about it? Damn him and his really quite movements.

"What?" he exclaimed.

"Fang if the pizza's not going to get here in time we can always eat KFC," I told him innocently.

He shot me a dark look.

"Did I do something wrong?" I looked at Orphius with a perplexed expression.

"Yes that was Max," Fang stated to the person on the other side. "You can tell by the sarcasm."

He nodded his head a couple of times. It was a habit that he had picked up a while ago when he was absorbing information. Usually it wasn't good.

He gestured for Orphius to approach and threw a folder on the ground.

Without any need of communication, Orphius started studying the map. Curious, I walked over and looked over his shoulder. It was a weather map. Apart from that I didn't understand what it was saying at all.

"This is bad Fang," he commented.

"I know that," he replied in an exasperated tone. "What I need to know is how bad."

Orphius glanced up a concerned look on his face. "There's a tropical storm coming all right. A big one as well. Look at the low depression zones here." He pointed with a claw. "It's 970mb Fang. That's as bed as it gets. Not only that, but the weather patterns from a couple of days before suggest that it will last a week at least."

"It's likely to sweep up north and might go east from there," he continued. "Winds will reach well over 100km/h and rain falls going to be in the meters."

"You got all that?" Fang asked the person on the other side.

"Is my room undisturbed?" he asked Fang.

Fang replied by simply nodding his head.

Without any warning, Orphius bounded out of the room at full throttle. The crowd outside respectfully parted as he ran past.

Turning a corner, he ran up several flights of stairs before making another sharp turn. The way he was running through the crowds and corridors, I lost track of him more than once only to have him appear again as he darted out from behind a person.

Going up a final flight of stairs, he burst through a door not bothering to open it throwing the door off by its hinges.

"What are we doing?" I demanded him.

He didn't bother answering and instead walked over to a circle that was drawn on the ground. Walking until it was dead center, he pressed something that caused the ground to open up revealing a flight of stairs that spiraled downwards.

Once again, he set off, this time running down the stairs. I was forced to take two steps at a time in order to keep up with him. Even though I was going at such a pace, I couldn't keep up and soon lost him in the dark.

Reaching the bottom, it was easy to tell where he was. His shape was outlined by the moonlight.

Wait a second. Did I just say moonlight? That must mean. . .

"What are you doing?" I asked him as I stepped up next to him.

Following his gaze, I saw him looking up at the night skies. Stars twinkled overhead. Frozen rain that hung suspended in space.

When he didn't reply, I decided to sit on the ground and wait. Waiting a couple more minutes for an answer was fine. After all I had waited for over four years for revenge. Against Fang, against Angel, against the School even.

After an eternity, he finally turned to look at me.

"This worse than I thought," he replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked him perplexed using a quite voice. It some how seemed profane to talk too loud. Even though the land that rolled below was in ruins, it seemed different.

"The coming war is going to be bloody Max, very bloody. Many people will die," he stated sadly.

"How could you know that?" I demanded him. "Can you see the future or something."

"Of course," he replied. "You've all got skills, why shouldn't I have one?"

"But seeing the future in stars?" I sounded like a skeptic, but what can I say?

"The stars have always told the future," he replied with a shrug. "People can't tell the future just because they're using the light of dead stars."

"Dead stars?" I echoed accompanied with a raised eyebrow.

"It takes time for light to travel over a distance as vast distance as space. The light from those stars are still traveling towards us and those stars which were just recently born haven't been around long enough for their light to reach us," he explained. "I'm able to see where the stars actually are and interpret what they mean. That's all."

"My real ability is to interpret data in such a way that it's extremely accurate. The more info I have the more accurate I will be." He backed away from the opening making his way back.

"Does that mean that if I gave you enough information you could tell what the opponents next move in chess will be?" I asked him.

"Sure," he replied. "It won't be 100, but it'll be close to about 80. That's in chess," he added.

All I could do was stare at him as he made his way out of my sight.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	25. The Next Stage

A/N Thanks to all reviewers 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all, except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXIV: The Next Stage.

Total POV

I laid my head on Angel's lap and stared at the wall. It wasn't really that great of a wall, it's just I had nothing better to look at. It was a plain beige color, that's all.

What was really spectacular to look at was the mosaic in the main hall. It was massive. The design was slightly creepy though. It was Max and what seemed like Ari while morphed standing back to back with that strange wolf of Max's in the middle. Talk about stalkerish.

The fluorescent bulb that hung suspended from the ceiling flashed sending a brief bolt of light through the room. Someone really needed to get the light fixed. The first couple of times was fine, but when it started to go into the hundreds, it starts getting annoying.

Yes, I did count. There's nothing better to do here.

Nudge was out taking a look at the mechanics that run the place. Poking her head here and there. I'm surprised they hadn't thrown her out yet. She's probably looking at the hydraulics that run the platforms that carried us here.

Gazzy was out and about helping the scientists down here with their bomb building. Better explosives. Somebody must have mentioned Gazzy and the bomb he used to blow up the plane. No sooner had he arrived then they pounced. I suppose he did pick something up from all that time helping Iggy build bombs then. Probably not as good as what Iggy could make, but better than most.

Orphius had appeared here and there. Every time he was busy to talk though. Some "errand" he had to do. It couldn't wait either. It always had to be done now, not later, but now.

As for Max. Well, we've got no idea where she is. She appeared screaming so loudly that the stone shattered before falling unconscious. Well, the stone didn't shatter literally. It was really close though.

And that left Angel and me to mind our own business. There was nothing for us to do. Orphius kept on informing that there was something special that we had to do, but so far we've got nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Talk about being bored out of your mind.

The door opened and a pale Gazzy came through the door. Deep circles had formed around his eyes. He looked terrible to put it mildly.

"What's wrong?" asked Angel concerned.

"Nothing a good nights sleep won't cure," he replied tumbling to the ground in a heap. "Where's Nudge?"

"Out with the mechanics," replied Angel with a wave of her hand.

He chuckled softly to himself. "Hope she's as tired as I am."

"You're a horrible person you know that?" I demanded of him.

"What are you talking about?" An innocent look plastered all over his face his weariness momentarily forgotten.

"Did you make bombs the whole entire time?" I asked curious as to what he had in the last day or so.

"Well they asked what I had done to make the bombs so powerful with the limited ingredients I had," he explained leaning back trying to get comfortable. "Then I spent time going over the schematics I was using for the base design before helping them make bombs."

"What is it that you use?" questioned Angel. "I've always wondered about that."

"Oh, this and that," he waved off the question. "Whatever's handy."

Angel opened her mouth to demand a straight answer. Luckily for Gazzy, a voice called out from the other side of the door. The look she shot him though spoke very clear. This was far from over.

In the years Max had been in charge, she hadn't been able to get a straight answer. Angel was going to get it, even if it was the last thing she did. The same went for where all of the bombs went.

"What?" she called out.

"The Arc leader wants to see you and the rest of your Flock," replied the voice through the door. "He says it's urgent."

With a gesture of her hand, we got up and followed her out the door.

"I was told there was one more," questioned our guide looking at each of us in turn.

"The mechanics have her holed up somewhere," replied Gazzy with a shrug. "I barely managed to make it out alive."

"I'll go find her, you guys know where the room is right?" he replied. When he saw our nods, he continued. "Good." Turning on his heels, he strode away muttering under his breath.

Exchanging a glance between the three of us, we shrugged. What can I say? Some people are crazy.

"Who wants to go in first?" asked Gazzy looking between the two us.

Neither me nor Angel decided to take him up on the offer. We didn't know who the leader of Arc is, but he seemed like someone important and until we knew more about him or her, neither of us wanted to be the first one to meet him just in case we offended him or her in someway.

"I will," I found myself saying despite my reservations.

Wait a second. Something didn't add up here. I swear I didn't say anything and yet I heard myself. Something is going on here.

"Thanks Total," exclaimed Gazzy looking at me. "As seen as you can't open the door, I'll do it for you and you can go in first."

Before I had time to react to my 'spontaneous' acceptance the door started squeaking open. By now, I had guessed who it was that had made me accept Gazzy's offer. I'm sure Angel knew as well, but she didn't bother coming to my rescue.

Stepping through, the first thing I noticed was that on the desk was the photo of a girl. A girl that was hauntingly familiar. It was Max.

She was sitting on the ground next to Angel picking strawberries for a strawberry shortcake. Max dominated the scene though. Dirt smudged her face, but in some way it seemed her to look her. . . radiant. Yeah, that's the word. Radiant.

I had seen that photo before. It was before I had joined up, but Fang kept it on him at all times. I don't know how he had managed to hide it from everyone, but he did. I only found out when I walked in on him when Max was out on her date with Sam.

Whether he noticed me or not, I'm not sure, but I managed to catch a glance at the photo before I disappeared.

A single person paced the room muttering under his similar to the person before us. The only difference was that he had a cell phone in his hand and was actually talking to someone.

"Hey Fang, you going to talk to us or not?" I demanded rather sharply.

I admit, it was a shot on the dark. But I've had my suspicions and the photo only added to them. If it wasn't him, it was Iggy and why would Iggy have a photo if he's blind?

Angel and Gazzy looked at me surprised when I had called that out. Shocked would have been a better term. Flabbergasted is probably the best though.

"Fang?" whispered Angel looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is that really you?" added Gazzy.

Looking away, he started muttering to who ever was on the other side of the conversation.

Annoyed, I advanced on him with my teeth barred. Growling once in annoyance, I leaped forward trying to tackle him to the ground. Sure it was a bit unorthodox, but what could I say? If it was Fang, we haven't seen him in over four years, the least he could do was acknowledge us in some way.

Shuffling to the side, he pivoted on his right heel making me sail past harmlessly. All the while talking on his phone.

The door behind us slammed open. Startled, we turned around and saw Nudge run panting in to the room.

"What have I missed?" she demanded looking from one person to the next. "Oh my god, is that Fang? Fang? Hello? It's me Nudge." Turning she faced us. "Does he have amnesia or something or is he deaf? Why isn't he responding? What the hell is going on here?"

"Calm down Nudge," soothed Angel.

"How can I calm down when Fang is standing right there and yet he's not responding? And why the hell is Total lying all the way over there in a heap? Also. . ."

Before she could finish her sentence, a hand clamped over her mouth shutting her up. She struggled for a couple of seconds, but couldn't break free of the persons grasp.

"Finally some peace and quite," sighed a voice right next to my ear.

Springing back on to my feet, I spun around to see whom the voice belonged to. The wolfish grin that greeted me was all the answer I needed.

"Orphius," I stated simply.

"The way you say it makes me seem as if I'm some unwanted guest," came the mocking tone.

"Stop fighting like children," demanded Fang in that slow deliberate way of his. The way he spoke made us all stop talking and turned to face him.

"It's bad Fang," started Orphius confirming our guess. "Low pressure system of 975mb, wind speeds well over 100km/h and torrential rain fall likely to drown us all is what's install."

"How sure are you?" He leaned forwards.

"65," came the reply after a few seconds of deliberation.

Nodding his head, he leaned backwards. "You got that?" he asked the other person.

After a few seconds of silence, he nodded his head and turned off the phone. Strolling over towards his desk, he ruffled through the bottom drawer pulling out a bottle of pills.

Opening the lid, he drowned a couple dry. He let out a sigh of relief before looking over at us. He seemed to be scrutinizing each of us in turn. His gaze lingered longest on Max. In turn, she returned it without even flinching.

Personally, I was surprised that Max hadn't killed him yet. After all she hates him a lot. And that had to be the understatement of the year.

"What's going on?" Nudge sounded perplexed which really sums up the atmosphere pretty well.

"Nothing much," replied Orphius for Fang seemed incapable of speech.

"Just planning on how to over Itex," replied Fang with a shrug.

Did anything faze Fang at all? How could he be so calm about something like this? Over throwing a major evil corporation is not an easy thing to pull off after all.

"Wait I'm still confused," interrupted Gazzy. "We were sent here to see the leader of Arc. Where is he?"

"Fang's the leader of Arc Gazzy," replied Angel trying to break the news to him easily.

Gazzy looked at Fang with newfound respect shining in his eyes. Every since he was little, he had admired Fang. I guess he had become Gazzy's idol or something. When Fang left though, Gazzy went through a rough period. Now that Fang was the leader of Arc, it was a whole different matter.

Angel opened her mouth to ask a question, but before it even left her lips, Max interrupted. "Can we get on with this?" she demanded impatiently. "We've stated all the obvious facts don't you think? Or maybe you'd like to go on to say that the chair is brown and the grass is green. How about, the sky is blue? I'm sure we don't know that either."

She really needs to get all of the sarcasm under control. If she's not careful, she could kill someone. Literally.

"Okay here's the deal," announced Fang. "I called you all here because we're going after Itex and you're all needed to accomplish the missions."

"Missions?" demanded Gazzy. "As in more than one."

One of Fang's rare smiles decided to grace us with its presence. "Any good plan comprises of more than one plan."

Striding purposefully towards a cupboard hidden in a secluded corner of the room, he pulled out a couple of large sheets of paper.

Rolling them open on his desk, a detailed map laid in front our eyes. It even had security schedules and where surveillance equipment where placed. The bomb room was even marked out.

"Okay here's the plan. . ."

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	26. Max's Box

A/N Thanks to all reviewers 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all, except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXV: Max's Box.

Max POV

I sat on the ledge looking over the wasteland bellow me. We had reached the end, but at what cost? Gazzy had told me about those that had stayed behind to make sure the civilians got away. How none of them except a few made it back alive.

It was my plan. My idea. My fault. I had gotten them all killed. Every last one of them. When they joined, they must have known what they had gotten themselves into, but. . .

So I sat here. The freezing wind pulling coating me, throwing me into liquid nitrogen. Numbing my body. Numbing my soul. Numbing my mind. But most importantly, numbing my heart.

Fang. That's all I could think about lately. For as long as I could remember I've wanted to kill him for what he did. For how he left me at the last moment, that single moment I needed him the most.

I thought I had placed all of my feelings behind me. Placed in a box and locked it, never to see it again. . . looks like I was wrong. It was still there, just submerged below the surface. Hidden, but not forgotten.

Max's Box. That's what it was. My very own special box similar to Pandora's. Opening it will only result in ruin.

"_You forget Max." _Interrupting my thoughts. _"Just as Pandora closed the box, there was one thing left."_

"_Hope,"_ I replied in a soft whisper.

"_That's right Max. Hope." _Soft chuckling met my ears. _"You never know. At the bottom of the box there might be something good."_

"_Go away Voice. I've got no time for this nonsense," _I hissed at him.

Soft chuckling reached my ears and before I had the time to snap back at him, he vanished from my mind, leaving a void that his presence filled whenever he talked with me.

Standing up, I walked over towards the edge of the ledge, I sat down. Just waiting for the light to come. Like so long ago, on the day my nightmare began, the back of my neck prickled. I straightened quickly and spun around.

"Will you _quite_ that?" I said.

Once again, as always, it was Fang. He always appeared out of nowhere like that. I had hoped that after four years he would have grown out of if, but no such luck. H simply gazed in to my eyes as if trying to untangle something.

"Quite what?" he asked calmly. "Breathing?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?" I demanded placing my hands on my hips. "I'm sure we had this discussion a long time ago."

"The day our lives went down hill," he remarked looking out over the scenery. Before glancing back at me. "The day Angel was taken from us."

"It seems like so long ago."

"Four years Max. It was four years." He sounded. . . tired? "And once again, our life's are going down hill." A brief moments silence filled the air. "And we're taking people with us. Innocent people."

"They joined freely Fang."

An oppressive silence filled the air. Neither of us wanted to break the silence. In the end, it was Fang.

"I didn't come to talk about all of that," he announced at last.

"Then why are you here?" I inquired.

"To talk about the past," he replied hesitantly. "About. . . us. . ."

Snapping around, I stared straight into his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it," I snarled.

Why must he bring this up now? Just before our big assault on Itex, on the School. Before we can exterminate those sadistic bastards from the world. Why now of all times?

Pushing past him, I stormed towards the door that led back into Arc headquarters. This was no the time.

"Max." The tone of voice he was using was almost. . . pleading.

Startled, I stopped in surprise. I had never seen him use such a tone before, it was. . . out of character. It was unFangish.

"What?" I asked still facing away.

"I need to explain."

"There's nothing to explain," I shot back. "You ditched me when I needed you the most. You've always been there for me Fang." Was I crying? "Ever since the beginning. You've been there for me. You're the only reason I lasted so long."

To my horror, tears leaked down my face and fell onto the ground. "I needed you Fang. On that night four years ago, I needed you. I needed the support you gave me, the strength that I drew from you. . . And yet you abandoned me." He just stood there, staring at me, a mask covering his emotions. In that split second, I wanted to do so many things him. To hit him, whack him, anything to get a response.

Another part me though, the old part that I though I had lost long ago. It seemed as if it was another person. A separate entity. Another being. She wanted to hug him, to feel his hand caress her skin, to. . . Another being wanted that. My old self desired that, but did I?

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally answered. "I'm sorry Max." A bare whisper.

"You're sorry," I roared leaping at him. In my fury, I hadn't noticed my hand morph to that of a wolf's. Didn't notice that I had changed completely.

An evil chuckle came through the link with my other half. "I can't believe you fell for it," she chuckled. Thank you Max, for freeing me."

I tried to move back, to get away from Fang. To change back, but my muscles wouldn't obey me. They wouldn't move. Something was wrong, I didn't need the Voice to tell me what, but I did need him to tell me how to get out of this.

"Max?" he questioned looking at me, not in the least ruffled.

"What Fang?" I heard myself say. I didn't say that though.

"Of course not Maxy, I'm in charge now. You might as well sit back, relax and enjoy the show," she taunted.

"Is something the matter?" My voice sounded, silky and alluring. Dare I say it? I sounded like that red haired wonder from the school. The only proper school I've been to.

"Yes something is the matter Max," he replied an edge in his tone. "There are a lot of something's in fact. But the main is that I want to talk to normal Max and not her Eraser half."

. . She froze for a second surprised, but she managed to recover in record time. Despite the confused look she plastered all over her face, I could still sense the surprise coursing through her system. She hadn't expected that at all.

"What are you talking about Fang?" she asked innocently. "It's me Max."

"First of all, Max hates me and would rather tear out my guts that get in such a. . . compromising position." Compromising? Excuse me? What? Talk about trying to be discrete and failing horribly at it.

"Secondly, she would rather die than be caught using that tone of voice." A smirk spread over his face. "Especially after Lissa."

Okay. Stop there. Did he just say Lissa. As in Lissa the red haired wonder? The on that had stuck to him like glue? How the hell can he be thinking of her at a time like this? When I get control of my body back, I am so going to kill him.

"Thirdly," he stalled. "If the real Max caught me saying Lissa then I would be dead by now."

I know I should forgive him as seen as it was part of his tactic. But I think not Fang. You are not getting off that easily. I will make you suffer one way or another.

"_You happy now my Eraser half?"_ I mocked.

"Go away, I'm busy here," she snarled back.

"So I suggest you get off," finished Fang. His tone clearly indicated that he meant business.

Eraser Max, didn't miss it either. Hearing the subtle change in tone, she knew she couldn't trick Fang, so she decided to change tactics.

Growling at him, she pulled her claw back, ready to slash out his throat. To kill him. As the stroke descended, the world around me flipped and turned before I came crashing to the ground in a heap. It was only then did I realize Fang had thrown me in to a wall. Sure I couldn't feel it now, but I'm sure it hurt. . . a lot.

"_Try to take care of my body please,"_ I commented.

The reply I got made me chuckle to myself. I wouldn't have expected any other.

Running forwards, my Eraser half searched for an opening as she launched a flurry of blows all aimed to kill. The last was a punch to the mouth.

Ducking down lower than usually, Fang lifted his arm just enough to deflect the blow so that it just missed. Pivoting on his heel, he turned his back to her and using his shoulder as leverage, he applied just enough pressure to break it.

Using the momentum of the strike, he continued to carry her forward resulting in yet another throw in to the wall. Curling in to a ball, she rolled back and sprung back on to her feet and held up her/my left arm in a defensive position.

I was rooting for Fang, but you'd think he could be a bit gentler on me. After all, that was my body he was using as a punching bag.

He walked slowly and deliberately towards her. Moving left, he feinted allowing my Eraser half to place her left arm too far to the left, leaving her exposed.

The last thing I saw, was his foot connecting with my face. A perfectly executed roundhouse kick to the face.

"Max?" came the voice.

"Go away," I mumbled.

"Wake up Max," it continued.

"What?" I demanded sitting up. My head felt like it had imploded, my arm was on fire and I haven't had enough sleep. Can't people leave me alone these days?

"What happened?" I demanded at Fang who stood there smirking.

"You don't remember?" He sounded confused.

"Don't I remember what?"

"Your Eraser half took over," he supplied.

Suddenly, everything seemed to click together. Eraser Max. The fight. Lissa.

"I can't believe you!!" I yelled at Fang.

"What?" he exclaimed surprised.

"I am going to kill you," I announced advancing on him.

Instinctively, he backed away from me. "What did I do?"

"Firstly, you did this to me." I ticked them off as I went along. "Secondly, and I quote 'compromising position.'" I let my voice trail off. "Thirdly. . ." I ended with just one word. "Lissa."

"Now Max, don't jump to any conclusions," he told me.

"Oh? And what would those conclusions be?" I asked him sweetly.

He glanced around hesitantly looking for an escape route, but it was still too windy to jump out and the route back to Arc was behind me. He was trapped.

"Just let me explain," he soothed. "It was just a ploy to see if it was really you or not."

"Not good enough," I warned him advancing.

"Max!! Fang!!" called a voice from the other side of the door. "I hate to disrupt your privacy, but something has come up and you're both needed."

Fang opened his mouth to respond, but I beat him to it. "We're busy right now Orphius!!" I called back.

"Nudge and Angel are preparing a party and Gazzy's building something and I really don't want to know what it does." There was a brief moment of silence as I weighed me killing Fang and the trouble that Gazzy was up to. "But as seen as you two are so. . . involved with each other right now, I suppose I can leave."

Here's the deal. I maybe mad at Fang right now and I might want to kill him, but there are some lines that can't be crossed. Orphius, just managed to cross one of those lines. The punishment was simple, they immediately shot to the top of my list. My hit list.

"Orphius?" I called out.

"Hey?" came the hesitant reply.

"You better start running if you want to survive," I replied shooting to feet.

Behind me, I heard Fang's soft chuckle echoing down the halls.

**A/N Sorry, but I'm keeping a tight lid on the plan. Looks like you'll just have to wait. Reviews would be nice.**


	27. Dresses

A/N Thanks for all reviews. I've got a test that runs from today to Monday, another test today and yet two more tests on Tuesday. In other words, I will be busy. Wish me luck and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Next chapter might be late, but I doubt it. 

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Orphius.**

Chapter XXVI: Dresses

Max POV

"Yeah Angel!!" yelled Fang coming down the hallway. "Where's Max?"

Her only reply was a shrug.

Hey, don't look at me. Sure I'm hiding behind some crates, I've got cobwebs in my hair and dust all over my body. I'm dirty, starving and haven't slept in the last couple of hours. All of this to hide from Fang. Call me crazy.

Leaning backwards, I let out a soft sigh as Fang's footsteps retreated. Reaching up, I brushed out the cobwebs that hung on to my body and hair. Standing up slowly, I managed to sneak a peek over the crates before ducking back down.

Great. Fang was gone, but Angel was still there. This is going to be a long day. . . or night. . . or whatever the time was now. You can't really tell when your underground all the time. All I know is that the storm outside's still going and that it was worse than before.

That's all Fang told everybody. But the set of his jaw, the way his eyes tightened along the corners, the way he stood. All of that and more screamed something was wrong. That something had gone off schedule. Whatever it was, he wasn't telling anybody.

Unconsciously, I clenched my fist. He always thinks everything has to be done by him. That only he and he alone can bear whatever the problem was. I guess I hoped that after four years, he would have changed. That he would have learnt to allow people in to his life.

Warn liquid tickled down my palms. More curious than startled, I looked down and opened my hand. Blood rang down my hand where my nails dug. Why wasn't I surprised? He always had the ability to make me want to throttle him while the other half wanted to hug him.

"I know you're there Max," whispered Angel. "You can come out now. Fang's gone."

Darn her and that mind reading abilities that she has.

"I know he's gone Angel, I'm not deaf," I snapped back from behind the crates.

Standing up to my full height, I stretched my arms and legs, which had managed to cramp up. Brushing the dust off my clothes, I walked forwards before placing the crates back the way they were.

"Thanks Angel," I whispered as I walked past.

"He still cares about you Max," she announced. "I can tell, he still cares about you. Even now."

"You can tell? Or did you his mind to find out?" I demanded turning to face her.

"Both," she replied meekly. "The way he acts around you says he likes you. As in he _likes_ you. There's still a chance." She shrugged indifferently. "What I get from his head just confirms that."

"He's the one that broke up with me Angel." I leaned closer, out faces inches apart. "Stay out of things you know nothing about."

She shook her head from side to side slowly. "He regrets that moment. He relives that every night. Every time he sees you it goes through his mind." A sad smile tinged her face. "He hated what he did to you. He regrets. He would do anything to change what happened in the past. He just thought it was for the best of the Flock."

"He thought it was best for the Flock?" I mocked her. "How could making me go to a mental facility be 'beneficial' to the Flock?"

"He didn't know you would react that way," she whispered, adverting her eyes from my gaze. "There's another side to every story. I just thought it would be best for you to check out his side that's all."

"Whatever Angel," I answered over my shoulder. "Whatever."

"_You should listen to her Max," _chimed in my Voice.

"_I've been wondering where you disappeared to," _I countered with a merry tone. _"I've missed you."_

"_The sarcasms not helping," _he warned. _"Just take Angel's advice and talk to Fang. You need him to save the world. If you two are constantly bickering over nothing you will fail."_

"_Thanks so much for the peep talk __coach__." _Note the emphasis on 'coach.' It was sarcasm. _"If that was meant to get me all fired up, you failed miserably."_

"_Whoever said anything about getting you fired up?" _he asked sweetly. _"I just told you the truth. The truth often hurts. Get used to it."_

"_You sound like Jeb," _I noticed. _"And that is not a good thing."_

The old dull thudding came back. You know what I'm talking about. It was, yet another, headache.

"_The whole headache thing is getting old," _I commented.

I got no verbal response, but an increasing headache said it all. Now, it felt as if there was something in my head and it was trying to get out. I wonder how many Panadol tablets I have to take to kill this killer headache.

"_I'm listening Voice, I am listening," _I told him.

"_That's a first," _he replied dryly.

"_Just get on with it,"_ I snapped.

"_Here's the thing Max. Go. Talk. To. Fang," _he purposely spread out the words. _"Need I repeat myself?"_

"_I got it." _Muttering curses under my breath the whole way down the hallway.

"Max!!" The call drifted down the hall.

"What!!" Short, sharp, simple and straight to the point. I doubt Fang could have done better.

"I hope you're coming to the party tonight," replied Nudge running towards me.

"Party? What party?" Why is it that people never tell me about these things?

"You know the party that's being held tonight?" she demanded impatient.

"I though Fang was going to talk you out of that," I asked surprised.

That was the deal after all. I talk to Gazzy about blowing things up and Fang talks to Nudge about the party that was being thrown. I swear I'm going to kill him right after I've killed Orphius. . . wherever he is. He's vanished completely. Darn him.

"Fang thought it was a good idea," remarked Nudge. "He thought it would bring everyone closer."

He probably agreed so that he didn't have to run around looking for me. Unless. . .

"_Don't even think about it Max." _Talk about perfect timing.

"_You ruin all the fun," _I pouted.

"_Max."_

"_Fine."_

"When's the party?" I asked her.

"So you're coming?" She bounced up and down in excitement. "You mean you're coming?"

"Yes Nudge." I sighed sadly. Great, what have I gotten myself into now?

Before I had time to do anything. Before it had even been a second, she was dragging me around the hallway. Arc members jumped out of the way as we passed.

"What are you doing?" I demanded trying to stop.

"You can't go to the party like that," came the exasperated reply, making it seem as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You look as if you've been crawling through the sewers." Shoving me into a room, she turned slammed the door shut.

"I look perfectly fine," I complained.

"_Voice a little help please."_

"_Why?"_

"_I'm meant to talk to Fang remember, I can't do that if I'm locked up with Nudge."_

"_You can talk to Fang at the party," _came the annoyed reply.

"_You're evil you know that. You are evil,"_ I shot back.

"_How could you even suggest such a thing?" _came the hurt reply.

My response to that comment? A growl. Nothing seems to communicate anger and annoyance like a growl.

"Is something wrong?" asked Nudge gazing at me.

"No, nothing," I replied.

"The Voice?" she continued.

"Yeah," I replied not really listening to what she was saying. "Can we just get on with this? You know how much I'm going to hate this."

"_That is so cool," Nudge said approvingly as I turned around to let her see the back of my new jean jacket. Of course, I would have to cut huge slits in it to let my wings out, but other than that, it was great._

_I looked up at her and grinned. She looked so _not_ Nudge, I was still startled every time I saw her. Her dark brown supercurly hair had been blow-dried perfectly straight and cut in layers. Then they streaked it with blond highlights. The difference was incredible— she'd gone from scruffy adolescent to slightly short fashion model in under an hour. I'd never noticed that she had to potential to be gorgeous when she grew up. If she grew up._

"_Check this out!" The Gasman had outfitted himself in camouflage, down to his sneakers._

"_Okay by me," I said, giving him the thumbs up._

_In this barnlike secondhand shop, we were in the process of completing out total transformation. Some of Gazzy's pale blond hair had been bleached white. They'd been spiked it with gel and colored just the spiky tips bright blue. The sides were supershort._

"Max?" called Nudge.

I shook my head trying to clear it. It had been a while since I last had a flash back. They happened a lot when I was in the mental asylum, but since I had gotten out, they had disappeared. Vanished to the place where they came from.

"Yeah?"

She held up two dresses for me to look at. "Which one do you like?"

"Ummm, neither?" I supplied.

"Neither?" she demanded impatient.

"You know how much I hate dresses," I complained.

She frowned at my words, then nodded. Tossing them on to the bed, she started going through her wardrobe.

_He made an exasperated sound and went over by Fang, whose hair had been cut short also, except for one long chunk that flopped over the front of his eyes. It had been highlighted with several mottled tan shades and now it looked exactly like a hawks plumage. Quelle coinkydink. In this store, he'd exchanged his basic black ensemble for a slightly different basic black ensemble._

Once again, I shook my head, trying to clear it. Why does everything revolve back to Fang?

"Are we almost done?" I asked Nudge annoyed.

"We would be done if you would just wear a dress," she replied annoyed. "But you're just too stubborn. Why must you wear these?" She gestured to the clothes she had dragged out.

"I'm not going to try to fight Erasers in a dress," I replied. "It's stupid."

"You're forgetting one thing." She pointed straight at me. "We're in Arc. There's no where else in the world that's more safe."

"_Go with the flow," _suggested the Voice.

"Don't you dare," remarked my Eraser half. "Don't you dare wear a dress. I will kill you if you do."

Great. I could either go with the Voice and annoy my Eraser half, or I could annoy my Voice and go with my Eraser half. Choices, so many choices. I really wanted to piss them both off. . . but that seems impossible right now.

Eraser, Voice.

Voice, Eraser.

What to do, what should I do?

On one hand I had the Voice who has made my life living hell. Comments here, comments there. Saying I had to save the world when all I wanted to do was keep my family save, when all I really wanted to do was to save those I loved. Was that too much? Was that such a bad thing?

On the other hand, I had Eraser Max, which has tried to kill both Angel and Fang. Who made me think I was crazy and that I was going to kill my own family. Who's done me no good service unlike the Voice. Who's made my life worse then this nightmare. Well, I did tell her to attack Angel and I wanted to hurt Fang so I suppose she can't be held liable for those. . . accidents.

I took a deep breath and looked directly at Nudge. "I'll take the dress."

What am I getting myself in to this time?

**A/N Reviews would be nice. Another thing, can everyone or at least a majority tell me whether you've read MR 3 yet or not. If EVERYONE has, then I'll start integrating the two story lines into, but only if everyone has read the last book. In other words, if you haven't read it, please tell me.**


	28. Dancing Birdies

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers and I'm sorry about the length of the chapter. It turned out shorter than I anticipated.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all, but I have Orphius.**

Chapter XXVII: Dancing Birdies

Total POV

For once it was silent. No bustle of people walking around. No cries of caution as bombs were being tested, no screams of warning as dangerous liquids being carried from lab to the other. Pure, undisturbed silence.

Well, it would be silence if there weren't music being blared in the main dinning hall. A party!! Out of all the preposterous ideas to raise moral, Nudge and Angel had to choose a party. What were they thinking?

Worse yet, here I am, searching the dark, dank corridors for Max and Nudge while there's a party going on. I know I complained about the party, but this is worse. Trust me, this is worse.

Where the hell were they? According to one of the many people who were AT the party, they were apparently at Max's room. . . Not much help that as seen, as I've got no idea where her room was. She never thought to tell us. I'm sure Fang would know, but he's nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Orphius from behind me.

Startled, I whirled around. Laughter danced in his eyes.

"I could ask you the same question," I replied with a low growl. It's not that I don't like, he just gets on my nerves.

"Me?" he asked innocently. "The music's too loud and it hurts my ears. Not too mention people get edgy around a talking wolf." A shrug accompanied his remarks.

"You sure it's not because Max has threatened to kill you?" I prodded.

"How did you hear about that?" he demanded irritated.

"The whole campus knows," I replied, glad I could ruffle his fur.

"Whatever," he demanded crossly. "I'll ask you again, why are you here?"

"Looking for Max and Nudge. They seem to have disappeared off the face of the world." I surveyed the corridors, trying to pick up their scent. "You don't know where they are do you?"

"They're in Max's room." Turning around, he started sauntering off in to the darkness.

"Where's Max's room?" I yelled after him.

The only reply I got was laughter echoing off the walls.

"Great," I muttered under my breath.

"What are you doing here Total?" asked a voice.

Once again, for the second time in the last couple of minutes, I turned around to see who was talking to me. I wish people would just stop sneaking up on me. I'm not as young as I used to be.

"Nudge?" I was shocked. I mean, I was truly and utterly shocked. She looked nothing like the Nudge I knew.

She stood there, in high heels wearing this beautifully deep russet hue that, although was hidden, complemented her wings perfectly. However, I was staring at the person next to her.

"Max?" I whispered. It couldn't be her. . . could it?

"Don't you dare say anything," she threatened.

Yep, that's Max all right. Max in a dress, who would have thought?

"And if you laugh, I swear I'll hunt you down," she continued.

Quickly, before she noticed my growing amusement, I bit my tongue, cutting off the remark that I was about to make.

She did, look exception though. Her dress was a perfect match to her hair, but unlike Nudge, she wore no high heels. Guess you can't tame her completely though.

The two of them walking together, looked as if they belonged in a beauty pageant or something. Don't tell Max I said that, if she heard me, she would kill me.

"You look. . . very nice," I complimented.

"Nice?" demanded Nudge archly. "I spent over three hours bickering with her and then a couple more getting her looking like this and you say she looks nice?"

"I believe he said _very_ nice," interrupted Max turning her gaze at me. Bending down so that she looked me in the eye, she continued, "I endured hours of this and if _very nice _is all I'm going to receive, I suggest you start running now." She leaned closer and whispered in my ear, "I'm not wearing high heels after all so I can and will catch you."

Standing up, she smiled sweetly down at me. Just a bit too sweetly for my liking.

"I'm just surprised that Max would wear a dress that's all," I protested. "I didn't mean anything by my comment. I was just too shocked."

"You just keep on believing that," remarked Max.

"So why aren't you at the party?" asked Nudge.

"Angel sent me to get you two. The party started a while ago and everyone was wondering where you went," I answered, slowly edging away.

"That's nice," they commented at the same time.

"We better not keep them waiting any longer," suggested Max. "Come on Total, you can lead the way."

"Why me?" I asked no one in particular.

"Did you say something?" asked Nudge.

"Nothing," I quickly amended. "I didn't say anything."

"Where's Max and Nudge?" demanded Angel as I strolled over towards her.

"I've had a bad day," I answered mournfully. "I need a drink."

"Where are they," she repeated placing as much force behind those words as possible. Not mind reading force, you know what I mean, that other force.

"They're coming," I replied, thanking the very surprised bartender for the drink.

Grabbing it with my muzzle, I threw my head back, letting the coarse liquid flow down my throat.

"That's exactly what I needed," I sighed.

"Hey!!" complained Gazzy. "How come Total can drink, but I can't."

"Because Total's not likely to build a bomb and then blow everybody up," she replied annoyed. Obviously, they've had this discussion before.

"I would do that," he persisted.

"No you wouldn't," agreed Angel. "You wouldn't need to build a bomb as seen as they're so many here and everything would be destroyed, not everybody."

He didn't reply, he just stood there staring at something behind us. "Oh my god," he whispered.

"What?" demanded Angel.

"He just saw Max and Nudge," I replied not really paying attention as I waited my next glass.

"Max and. . ." Her voice trailed off as she looked behind her.

"Are you drinking?" demanded Max as she sat down beside me. Turning her attention to Angel and Gazzy, she continued. "What?"

"You're wearing a dress," breathed Gazzy. "The world must be coming to an end."

"Your world will be coming to an end very soon," retorted Max.

"You shouldn't go around threatening people like that," came the slow deliberate observation from Fang.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," she snapped turning around.

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"Are we going to have this conversation each time?" she asked looking him squarely in the eye.

He simply shrugged in reply.

"Answer me, damn it!!" she nearly yelled. "Can't you just give me a straight answer for once."

"_Only_ if you listen to my side of the story," he replied glazing at her eyes, his voice hiding deep annoyance.

Max simply nodded mutely, shocked at the tone of voice he used.

"Good." He nodded his head and stood up. "Come with me then."

"Now?" she asked. "It is party after all."

"Max," he warned. "Fine." Standing up, she looked back at us. "Don't go out and order any pizza without me."

Before any one could answer, she was gone, trailing behind Fang.

"Pizza?" echoed Angel confused. "How can she be thinking of that at a time like now?"

"You know Max. Making jokes at the most inappropriate times," reminded Gazzy.

"That's true," I added, my speech slightly slurred. "I think it helps her relieve the tension or something."

We all sat there silently while we waited for Nudge's customary ranting. When it didn't come, we all looked around searching for her.

"Where did she go?" demanded Gazzy craning his head above the crowd.

"I hope she's not getting herself into trouble," added Angel.

"Knowing her," started Gazzy. "She gotten herself into trouble."

"Just look for someone whose mouth is constantly moving and is a blur," I added, trying to be helpful.

"You really should stop drinking," commented Angel glancing down at me. "That's a terrible habit."

"What is?" I demanded.

"Drinking," replied Gazzy.

I gazed mournfully at my glass. "I suppose your right," I sighed. Reaching up, I swiped it over with my paw, spilling the contents on the ground.

What a waste of perfectly good beer. Glancing up at Angel, I looked back down at the spilled drink. Shaking my head, I looked away.

I could feel it, it was mocking me. Laugh, come one, I know you want to. But I swear, it was mocking me, taunting me. It wanted me to drink it, just like how those yellow birds were dancing on stage.

Yellow birds? Where had they come from? Oh well, they were pretty yellow birds. . . and they were dancing. Such a pretty little dance as well.

"Total?" Angel leaned over me looking concerned.

"Hi, Angel's," I replied. "Which Angel is the real Angel? You all look the same to me."

"Just how much did you drink?" she asked me.

"The same amount as the number of dancing birdies," I answered.

"Dancing birdies," laughed Gazzy.

"What dancing birdies?" questioned Angel looking straight at me.

"The ones on stage silly." Why can't she see the birdies? They were right there after all.

"Why don't you just get in his head?" asked Gazzy once he had recovered.

"I can't, it's all too muddled up thanks to the drinking."

"So you're saying we've lost Nudge and Total's drunk." Once again, he burst out laughing. "A drunken dog. That's a first."

Their mouths continued moving, but I couldn't hear a word. All I could see was the world spinning around me, before I blacked out. The yellowing dancing birdies continued to do their routine on stage, oblivious to the fainted dog. Oblivious to the fact that the fainted dog was the only one who could see them.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**

**Reminder: Last chance to tell me whether or not you've read the MR3 yet or not.**


	29. Another Side, Another Story

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXVIII: Another Side, Another Story.

Max POV

The music behind me slowly dimmed until it was no more than a memory. Ahead of me, Fang was walking at a moderate pace, sipping a glass of wine, which he held in his right hand.

Yeah, I'm as surprised as you. Fang drinking. Total I can understand, but not Fang. It just seemed so. . . strange.

Before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing. Quickly, before Fang heard me, I clasped a hand over my mouth, trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to muffle the sound.

"What's so funny?" demanded Fang next to my ear.

I hated how he does that. How he can just appear out of nowhere. Sure, it was useful on occasion, but when you're used to running from sadistic scientists, you're usually jumpy.

"You," I replied looking him straight in the eye.

He simply raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question.

"I'm imagining you drunk," I finished.

"It's not that much fun." He continued down the corridor.

"What," I cried, running to catch up to him. "You've been drunk?"

". . ." Silence.

Something's never change.

Reaching forwards, he pushed open the door to his room, and gestured for me to enter.

What a gentlemen.

You probably couldn't hear it, but the sarcasm was there. The sarcasm was definitely there.

Stepping in, his private room looked exactly like the one he had four years ago. If I had a picture and compared it to this one, it would be exactly the same. Well, most of it would be.

The only difference was that he had that picture of me and Ari. Talk about stalkerish.

"That's really creepy," I pointed out.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

"That picture of me and Ari and Orphius," I replied. "Who the hell painted that?"

"I've got no idea," he replied, flopping himself on his bed. "Orphius was the one who showed it to me."

"Orphius?"

"You're not deaf are you?"

"And you're not emo either I suppose?"

"Of course not."

An uneasy silence filled the room. Both of use fuming silently.

I don't get it. I got in to arguments with Orphius on the way here, and a lot of the things exchanged were more dramatic than this, and yet. . .

It hurts so much more when Fang said them.

Looks like I'll have to find, yet another, new lock for my box. I still have to figure out whose emotion it was. Mine, or my past self.

"I didn't ask you here to exchange insults," Fang finally announced. "I asked you here to tell you my side of the story."

"I don't give a damn about your side of the story." I muttered under my breath.

"_Max,"_ came the warning tone.

"_Sorry Mother,"_ I replied.

"Fine," I directed at Fang. "What is your side of the story?"

"I wish you would keep an open mind about this," he snapped.

I blinked in surprise. Fang had snapped at me. That's about as much emotion as he shows. What really startled me was the underlying anger in his tone. I had seen him use that tone before, but never on me.

On Ari and the Whitecoats, but never on one of the Flock members, especially me. For him to snap like that. . .

"Sorry," he muttered, rubbing his temple.

"It's alright," I answered. "I should listen to what you say anyway."

"_Now was that so hard?"_ mocked the Voice.

"_Go away,"_ I instructed.

"Where to start," mused Fang out loud. "Where to start."

"Why you dumped me seemed to be a good idea," I interrupted, trying being helpful.

"You think I wanted to do that?" he demanded sharply. "You thought I didn't love you?"

"Thought?" I nearly screamed back at him. "I still think that!! You left me when I needed you the most. When everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong!!"

"I did that because I thought it was best for the Flock," he countered, his voice low and steady, just above a whisper.

Immediately, I froze and cut off what I was about to say.

When most people get mad, they yell and scream and raise their voice. Fang was the opposite. His voice goes quite and he speaks even more slowly and deliberately. It was what ice would sound like. Cold.

"I was afraid that if I admitted what I felt about you, you wouldn't be able to concentrate. That your focus would be on me, but not the Flock." He stood up and started pacing the room. "If a bunch of Erasers attacked us, I wanted you think of the Flock first. I wanted you to protect Gazzy and Iggy and Nudge and Angle and dare I say it? Even Total."

"If I told you that I loved you." I searched his face for any hints of it being a lie. "Do you really think you could concentrate on the safety of the Flock?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. "Think about it Max. Do you really think that you would be able to concentrate on their safety at all?"

I wanted to say that I could. That the Flock would come first. That they would be safe before I went back for him.

But it would all be a lie. I knew that and so did he.

"Remember the time on the beach?" he asked me.

Of course I did. How could I forget? Back then; whenever I closed my eyes all I could see was him, lying on the beach, blood staining the ground.

All that blood. So much blood. And all of it was his. Every single last drop was his.

"Max?" he called out softly.

I was only dimly aware of his voice, all I could see was that day play over Andover and over again in my mind. Each time it replayed, I wondered if I could have helped him in some way.

"Max?" he called again.

I knew now. Or at least I was certain that if Fang did admit his true feelings, whatever they were, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the safety of the Flock. All I would be able to do is wonder what I could do to help Fang. Whether he needed it or not.

What he had said _might_ be true, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"You really think getting rid of me was best for the Flock?" I know, not the best thing I could have said under the circumstances, but sarcasms become a habit.

"Max," he stated in a tolerated tone.

Isn't it funny how one simple word can have so many different meanings? Take before for example, he sounded anxious. And now? He was annoyed. Make that very annoyed.

"Is that all you can say?" came his measured voice. "Do you always have to be sarcastic?"

"Well what do you want me to say?" I asked in mock confusion.

"Your thoughts would be a good start," he muttered.

"Well. . ." I purposely dragged it out for dramatic flair. "I can see what you're getting at. I _probably _wouldn't be able to concentrate properly."

There was silence as he waited for what I would say next.

"But that doesn't mean what you did was the right thing," I finished. "You could have done it any other way instead of what you did."

"I know that Max," he sighed mournfully. "You think I don't regret what I did? If I knew you would have reacted the way you did, I would never have done what I did."

He sat back down on his bed. "Every time I turned around, I thought I saw you. Every person I passed, I swear it was you. No matter where I went, your face appeared in my mind."

"I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't think. I knew that if this carried on, I would put the Flock in danger. In the end, I decided to strike out for myself and try to find you," he sounded so weary.

"And somehow you ended up here, the leader of Arc," I finished for him. "How the hell did you manage enough money for all of this?"

"While I was searching for you, I managed to locate my parents. It had already been a three months into my search and I realised there was no way I could find you. So, I decided to stay with my parents," he hesitated for a second, looking in my direction for a response.

"I'm sorry, is this where I'm meant to yell at you for placing you parents before me?" I asked him wide eyed. "I missed out on rehearsal the other day so I never received my script."

"I did however post your description on my blog hoping someone would notice you and call me or something."

"This might not be a part if the script," I interrupted. "But what does this have to with all of this." I gestured around me. "Where did all of the money for this come from?"

A smile crept on the corners of his lips. "I'm getting to that," he replied. "After a couple more weeks when I received no word, I realised that if you weren't around, then who was going to save the world? It was then I started dipping into my parents funds, using a spy in Itex to collect information on the date they would mobilize."

"Wait a second. You parents funds?" I interrupted yet again.

"I forgot to mention that didn't I?" he asked. "You see my parents were, in fact, rich. I managed to _liberate_ money from their account without their knowledge much less their consent and used that to set all of this up."

"Let me get this straight," I told him. "Your parents were rich?"

He simply nodded. Looks like we had reached Fang's word quota for the day.

"How rich?"

"Extremely." Like I said, he's reached his word quota.

"And where does Orphius come in to all of this?" I demanded of him. I knew there was something he wasn't telling me, but what it was I had no idea.

"He helped me break out of the School," he announced with a shrug.

"You were caught?"

He shrugged as if nothing had happened. "It was the only way to keep them away from the Flock. I laid out a false trail using my blog that led them straight to me."

"You're an idiot you know that right?" I questioned.

"It was meant to be a trap for the Erasers that appeared, but there were more of them than I expected and they arrived faster than I expected." A smirk appeared on his face. "If it wasn't for him, I would be dog meat." Finally he added, "I used him to search out all of the tip offs I had gotten from the blog."

"You used him like a messenger?" Okay, if I sound socked, it's justified. I had spent time with Orphius and although, not all of my opinions are nice, I had a fairly good opinion of him.

"Like I said, my family had money, I was bale to bribe some officials in to letting me 'keep' him like a pet. If I hadn't done that, he would have been locked in a zoo or something."

I simply shook my head in surprise. I thought I knew Fang, but now I wasn't so sure. He had bribed people, gotten drunk and done who knows what else. But there was one thing he hadn't answered.

"Do you love me?" I asked him bluntly.

"Talk about being subtle," he muttered. Then he continued on a louder voice. "Do you really think I would tell anyone what I just told you? Not even Orphius knows as much as you do, no one does."

"So?" I asked arching my eyebrows.

I expected him to say something, to try to convince me that he did love me. Instead, he simply grabbed me, pulled me close, and kissed me soundly on my lips.

Neither of us was prepared for my reaction.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	30. Revaluation

A/N 210 reviews!! I can't believe I managed to hit over 200!! Thank you, thank you and thank you yet again. Thanks to all you wonderful reviewers once more and also to all those people who read this story. 

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXIX: Revaluation

Max POV

For a moment, I was senseless. Everything just shut down at the same time. Nothing was functioning.

Without anything interfering, I drowned in his kiss. Oh man, were those lips sweet. They were like heroine and I was the addict.

How could I have survived so long without them?

I threw myself into his arms. Blood seared through my skin, burnt my lips. It was only now that I realised how much he really meant to me. How much I missed him.

My lips parted, his heavy scent filling me with unequal need. In those couple of seconds, I conveyed all of my conflicting emotions to him. Well nearly all of my emotions.

"I thought you wanted to kill him," remarked my Eraser half. "This doesn't look like killing him to me."

"_Go away."_ I mentally sent her to her room.

But she was right. I did want to kill him. Or at least I wanted to. Now? I wasn't too sure.

"_That's right Max, go with the flow," _interjected my Voice.

Okay, that was it. If the Voice agreed with what I was doing, then there must be something wrong with it.

Ummmm, I'll get back to you on that. As soon as I'm finished here.

Finally we broke apart, both gasping for breath.

Well, I was gasping for breath, but Fang just seemed like himself. Mr cool calm and collected. You know what I mean.

"Wow," he whispered.

And the prize for understatement of the year goes to. . . FANG!! Congratulations Fang. How do you feel?

"Wow?" I demanded. "Is that all you can say?"

"I thought you were going to kill me or something," he answered with a shrug. "At least that was what Orphius warned me would happen."

"The thought of killing you did cross my mind," I told him truthfully. "In fact, the urge hasn't completely gone away yet."

A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Maybe I can help erase it."

Leaning forwards. He kissed me once again on the lips. I'm in heaven. Or as close to it as I'll ever come.

This time, vertigo came over me. The walls started swirling, everything blended together like paint being washed down the sink.

I opened my eyes and realised I was lying in a bed.

That's strange, this isn't my room. Where the hell am I?

"You awake?" asked Fang.

Okay. What the hell is he doing in my room?

"Why am I here?" I demanded.

Rising from bed, he quickly shuffled to my side. Looks like I need more help than I expected. My balance hasn't been restored yet it seems.

"You're still faint?" he asked exasperated. "Am I that good?"

"No," I replied, not wanting him to feel superior. "I just forgot to breathe."

At my words, he burst out laughing. "Looks like I'm better than I expected."

Damn it. I can't believe I just fell for it. Damn him. Damn him. And damn him yet again.

"Maybe you should sleep here tonight," he suggested.

"Are you insane?"

"You can barely stand right now. Let along walk."

"I'm sorry, but do you know what everyone will think if I stayed in your room _overnight?_"

"It's not as if the Flock will be shocked."

"That's not the point!!"

"Then what is?"

I opened my mouth to make some sort of smart aleck reply, but nothing came to mind. I was drawing a blank. Why does he have this affect on me?

"Just stay Max," he urged.

"On one condition," I told him sternly. "You keep your hands to yourself. You got it?"

"Yes Max. I got it," he sighed.

Standing up with the help of the wall. I made my way towards the bed and sat down on it with a thump. Yanking the bed sheets over me, I turned my back to him.

"Goodnight," I called over my shoulder.

"Hey," he complained. "Where am I meant to sleep?"

"You were the one who wanted me to sleep in your room," I told him sweetly. "You can sleep on the ground. If you haven't noticed the beds not large enough for two."

He wasn't called Fang for nothing. Muttering under his breath, he grabbed a pallet from the closet and laid it down on the ground. That was all the reaction I got from him.

"Goodnight," he replied a trifle abruptly.

Reaching over, he turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

I closed my eyes, willing myself to go to sleep. All I could see though, was Fang's face in front mine, dangerously close.

What stood out the most though, was the look in his eyes. I had seen it before, only once. It was look a man gave to his wife. A look that said he would anything from me. That they loved each other deeply.

My ponderings were disturbed by the sound of soft whispering coming from outside the door. It was too soft for me to hear what they were saying and the music from the party didn't help at all.

It was already way past midnight and there were still people partying. They are going to have one heck of a hangover the next day.

"There're people outside," whispered Fang next to my ear.

I bit down hard on my lips to keep me from yelping in surprise. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"

"We can argue about that later. Right now we have to deal with the people outside," he whispered back.

"You open the door and I grab them," I whispered back.

Sliding out of bed, I crept over towards the door and took out my handgun that I liberated from the Erasers.

"A gun?" he mouthed.

I simply gestured impatiently for him to get on with it.

A look was exchanged, then he jerked open the door. Four figures sprawled onto the ground. My gun was pointing at them. Well not all of them, but in the centre so that if I shot, it would hit at least two people.

"Nudge." The controlled anger behind Fang's voice was unmistakable. "Angel, Gazzy, Orphius." He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Where's Total?"

"Drunk," replied Angel.

"You let him get drunk?" I demanded from her. For some strange reason, it seemed to amuse Fang more than it aggravated him.

"She wouldn't even let me drink," protested Gazzy.

"Total's not going to blow everything if he gets drunk," I reminded.

"I wouldn't do that," he continued.

I simply raised an eyebrow and he shut up.

"What you people doing?" Fang demanded, looming over them.

"Nothing," they chimed in unison.

Fang folded his arms, his eyes turning steely.

"We were taking a walk?" suggested Gazzy looking hopeful.

Neither of us was fazed.

"I suggest you go back to your room and go to sleep," I suggested. "It's well past midnight. Get some sleep."

Glad that they weren't going to be punished for listening in on conversations.

"Ophiuchus," I called out. At the use of his full name, he automatically froze. "I still haven't forgotten my promise."

With those parting words, I closed the door.

"Was that really necessary?" Fang asked me.

"Was what?" I feinted innocence.

"I wish you would stop threatening Orphius, he is necessary for us to carry out the plan," he told me. "He knows about as much as I do."

"Whatever," I replied over my shoulder.

Easing the gun back into the holster, I retreated back to the warmth of my bed. Sighing with pleasure, I finally slipped off into a dream.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Fang writing away on paper. The dream I had last night left me with a deep sense of pleasure, but it fled as I tried to recall what it was about.

Whatever it was, I was calm now. What happened yesterday with Fang was still in my mind and I wondered if he was drunk at the time.

"Morning," he called over his shoulder.

"What time is it?" I brushed the remaining sleep from my eyes.

"10am," he replied.

I groaned and hid my face under the pillow.

"I got up at five," he told me. "If anyone is allowed to complain, that's me." He stretched, easing back his shoulders. "I got next to no sleep."

"What did you do all night?" I asked him intrigued.

"Thinking." Back to the one word answer by the looks of things.

"About. . ." I trailed off waiting for him to finish.

"Nothing," he changed his mind. "Nothing at all."

"What is it?" I urged. "You can tell me."

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, his cell phone rang. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out.

Before he could answer it though, I grabbed his arm stopping him.

"You can answer it after you tell me what you were about to say."

"This might be important Max. Only one person knows this number."

"Who?"

"My spy." He pulled his arm from my grip. "I'll tell you afterwards."

Flicking it open, he placed it next to his ear. "Yeah?"

There was a couple seconds of silence. By the set of the jaw, I'd say the news wasn't good. Suddenly, a smile split his face.

Have I ever mentioned that whenever Fang smiles, it seems like the sun coming up? I'm sure I have.

"That's great," he congratulated. "That is perfect. How long can you postpone the manufacture?"

His smile grew; a hint of malice was detectable.

Abruptly, he shut the phone and turned to face me. "My lucks finally changed."

I gave him a blank look. Just what was he going on about?

"Itex was moving faster than I anticipated," he explained. "But my spy's been able to slow them down some what. Not only that, but he's tipped it slightly in our favour."

"If we went forward at the time frame I told you, that means we have gone in with two thirds of out force. Now, we will be able to go in with full force while Itex will be under." If he wasn't Fang, he would have been prancing about in glee. Instead, he was simply pacing about.

"It was risky from the start, but now it'll work even better." He continued striding around the room. "Now we'll have the best chance."

"Who is your spy," I interrupted.

"That's for me to know," he replied. "And you to find out."

"Before you go." I latched on to his arm. "What the hell were you thinking about?"

"Can't you just let that go?" he exclaimed.

"No," I replied honestly.

"Fine," he sighed resigned.

I tapped my foot impatiently for his reply.

He raised his eyes so they locked onto mine. "You," he whispered.

With that single word for me to maul over, he vanished out of the room. I was left with an enigma to ponder.

"_Go with the flow Max. Go with the flow,"_ mocked the Voice.

"_Shut up," _I snapped.

His laughter echoed in the vaults of my mind.

_You._ That was what Fang had said. _You._

There's going to be a lot of thinking I'm gonna have to do. A lot of thinking about everything Fang every did. About whether or not, I truly, honestly hate him or not.

That, the part that wanted to kill him used to be dominant. But now, I don't know. I just don't know.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	31. Something Special

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Once again, this chapter is shorter than I like it.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXX: Something Special.

Max POV

Well now, when Fang left, I thought it would be for just a while. Instead, he's been gone for an hour. You'd thought he'd be around, especially since he left on such an ominous word.

I can't very well bully the answer out of him if he's not around now can I? Looks like our game of hide and seek has been reversed. Before I was hiding and he was seeking, now? I was doing the seeking while he's hiding in some obscure corner on the complex.

The thing is, I've got an advantage. Who needs to talk to someone when there's a resident mind reader in the house?

"Excuse me," I asked politely, tapping the shoulder of a passer by. "Have you seen a talking dog anywhere?"

"Hey," he replied without looking up fro the chart he was looking. "He's just down that corridor." He pointed of to the left. "He's having a chess game with a talking wolf."

I stared after him as he walked down the corridor. The scientist didn't seem at all phased by talking animals. Most people look upon Orphius and Total as if they were unnatural. Then again, this place was being run by Fang and he was voted Most Likely To Start A Cult by the Flock.

Following he persons direction, I finally came to be in the main mess hall were everyone usually gathered to eat. Sure enough, I found a crowd all watching intently. I couldn't se what I was, but I was determined to find out.

Brushing my way into the crowd, I slowly made my way until I was up front. More than once, someone _accidentally _tripped over.

Hey, don't look at me like that. I swear it was an accident and I took no part in it. None at all.

To my immense surprise and shock, before me, on a wooden table like the rest in here, lay a chess board. On it, pieces were scattered in every direction and a very complex game was in progress.

I used to play chess against Jeb when he was still with us and he often won, I could only beat him under certain circumstances.

But when Jeb left, I stopped playing altogether. It brought back too much memories of what it used to be like. When everything was still alright and we weren't being hunted everyday.

The real surprise that awaited me was that the two people that ere facing each other was, in fact, Orphius and Total. When the scientist told me they were facing each other, I thought he was joking. Obviously I was wrong.

Behind Total stood Angel and behind Orphius stood Vic, each one of them waiting patiently.

That's another reason I could never beat Jeb, I'm not the most patient person in the world.

From the look of things, the black side was winning, but just barely.

"Who's playing black?" I asked them.

"Total," huffed Orphius gazing at the board.

Beside them, the timer slowly ticked away. Echoing away in the silence.

Freeze everything. Did Orphius just say Total was black and black was winning? There is something majorly screwed with this world.

Orphius used to be a top scientist at the School, he was being groomed to take over after the Director and he was losing to Total? Something is completely screwed up here.

I peered closely at Total then shifted my gaze to Angel. Here's a question, would Angel cheat in order to help Total?

I looked even closer at Total, wasn't he drunk last night? Man, playing chess with a hangover, I wonder how good he normally is. No matter, I'll have some fun and then I'll go looking for Fang.

"_Isn't this just slightly childish?" _intoned the Voice.

"_Go away, I'm busy," _I snapped back.

Shifting closer to Total, I noticed Angel frowning at me from the corner of my eye. She opened her mouth to speak, but I simply shook my head and she closed it.

"TOTAL!!" I screamed next to his ear.

You've probably seen a dog jump in fright, but I can bet that you've never seen a talking dog who can jump higher than most humans jump in fright. Really, really funny. You should try it sometime.

It won't be that hard to find a talking dog who's been alter to jump really high, just call your friendly neighborhood sadistic scientists at 0800 PURE EVIL. They're even kind enough to use an 0800 number meaning the call is free.

A word of warning, don't give out your address and don't tell them your name. Just a precaution, I'm sure you understand.

"Max," reprimanded Angel. "That wasn't very nice."

She knelt down next to a whimpering Total and stoked her head. Why we kept him, I'll never know.

"Sorry," I shrugged. "But I've always wanted to do that."

"Knight to E7," called Orphius, interrupting whatever Angel was about to say. Immediately, Vic stood up and moved the piece for him.

And here I was wondering how Orphius and Total was able to move the pieces without opposable thumbs.

And with that simple move, Orphius managed to change to whole playing field. In one single move he had managed to disarm everything Total was throwing at him.

Moving with deliberate slowness, Orphius reached up and tapped the timer. "Your turn," he called sweetly.

"Bishop to E7," replied Total, seemingly unfazed.

"Castle to A8," countered Orphius, tapping the clock.

"Queen to C7." Tap went the clock.

"Knight to H5." Tap. "Check."

"Bishop to H5." Tap.

"Castle to G5." Tap. "Check."

A soft growl emitted from Total, then a grin emerged.

"Castle to G5." Tap. "Check."

"Queen to G6." A smile filled with malice overcame Orphius' face. "And that's checkmate."

I could see Total's eyes widen in shock at the announcement. His eyes darted from side to side as he tried to figure a way out of it. But. . . it wasn't called checkmate for nothing. There was no way out of this one. He was caught and he knew it.

Looking up from the board, a smile was plastered all over his face. "Nice game," he congratulated Orphius.

"Another game?"

"Let's see what Max wants first shall we?"

Both of them turned to face me.

"I just want to know where Fang is," I told them.

"Have you checked his room?" suggested Total.

"Oh my god," I feinted. "I'm such an idiot. I am so stupid as to not check his room."

"Yeah, no need to rub it in," he whined.

"Orphius?" I asked.

"He might be at that cave entrance we were at," he told me.

"Cave entrance?" I questioned perplexed.

"The place we went to when we checked out the weather," he answered.

Nodding my head, I walked away, the sound of moving chess pieces fading off in to the distance behind me.

It was only after I had walked away did I realize that Orphius had an unfair advantage. He could, after all, predict a person's next with an unnatural accuracy.

Slowly, I slowed my steps until I was at the entrance of the cave. It was night outside; the stars glistened, winking down at me.

I looked around, trying to find Fang, but he was no where to be seen. It was completely empty. Looks like I was sent on a wild goose chase.

"You're looking for me?" asked Fang, his breath trailing down my back.

"Can you please stop doing that?" I demanded him.

He opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. "And don't you dare say 'What? Breathing?' If you do, I swear you're in for a world on pain."

From his silence, I guess I had scored. That's Max: 1 and Fang: 0.

"Why are you here?" he asked me turning away.

"Looking for you."

"Why?"

"I want to know what you meant this morning."

He raised an eyebrow.

"When I asked you what you were thinking about and you replied you."

"You're not usually this slow."

"Just tell me what the hell you were talking about."

"I was thinking about you Max. Is that so hard to understand?"

"Why were you thinking about me and what were you thinking of?" I pressed.

"You don't know what happened to me when you left Max." He eyes moved away so that I wouldn't have to look in them. "I was a wreck when you left. I was a complete and utter wreck. I know people said I was in charge, but truth was, Iggy was already taking over. He might be blind, but he was better than I was."

"Do you know how guilty I felt Max. Do you have any idea what that does to someone. If I knew you were going to react that way, I would never have done what I had."

"I was thinking about all of times we were together, all of the times that I missed you. It was only then did I realize how much I need you. Max." For some reason, when he said my name, I felt a shiver run up my spine. "Without I couldn't function. The only way I've survived so long is by working so hard hat you're no longer in my mind. By working so hard that when I fall asleep I don't dream of you."

Now, he was no longer hiding his gaze, instead he was looking straight at me. For once, his emotions weren't masked and I could see the emotions in his eyes.

"Everything I did, everything I looked at, reminded me in some way of you. That's why when I had everything set up here, I got Orphius to go out and look for you. I couldn't bear the thought of you being dead, but I couldn't live without knowing either." He sounded almost. . . sad.

We stood there in silence. Neither of us talking for a long time. He stared down at the ground, while I stared at him. I suppose he was embarrassed that he got so emotional in front of me.

Unable to find the right words to say, I simply walked over towards him and drew him close. He glanced up startled, but before he could say anything I pressed my lips firmly to his, silencing all protests.

"This is disgusting," echoed Eraser Max in my head. "I think I'm going to puke."

At the same time, another Voice intruded on my. . . our, moment. _"That's my Maximum. I knew you could do it."_

As much as I wanted to hate Fang, I couldn't do it. Not now, not after I had learned to reason to his response.

You see, I've done thinking on this as well.

He did everything I would have wanted him to. He placed the Flock before our relationship. He sacrificed his future in order to keep the Flock safe. He did what I would have done.

Four years ago, when Angel was first taken, I was ready to do anything to keep the Flock. I was ready to sacrifice myself for the Flock. I was ready to trade places with Angel if that was what it took.

But what Fang did, was an even greater sacrifice, he was ready to give up his future, he was ready to give his happiness to keep the Flock safe.

Man, was I proud of him. I suppose I could forgive him dumping me, but all those months in a mental institute were something else. He was going to have to do something special. Something very, very special.

"Well. . ." I trailed of ominously. "There is something you can do. Something very, very special."

He looked at me, at first confused, but it soon changed to understanding. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"We'll be off to fight Itex soon Fang. In that battle, one of us my die." I smiled sadly. "If that happens, I want to go with your taste on my lips, with the scent of you skin lingering on me, with your warm embrace a recent memory."

I reached out and touched him lightly on his cheek, he trembled slightly under my touch. "Please Fang?"

He looked me, with the barest change in expression, except a flickering in his eyes, he nodded. In that split second, I could see a deep love in there.

Well, you probably expect me to have something to say right about now, something cheeky and with my trade mark wit attached to it. You're right, "I just hope you can deliver," I whispered softly in his ear.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	32. How The Hell Did This Happen?

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXXI: How The Hell Did This Happen?

Max POV

I woke up slowly, dragging myself out of my slumber. Everything that happened last night was still fresh in my mind and I wonder how I could have ever held any doubt about Fang. It seems he is good at everything.

Sighing with pure satisfaction, I turned over only to realize that Fang was no longer beside me. His warmth was gone.

Sitting up, I looked around, trying to locate him or at least a letter somewhere. I swear, if he left and doesn't tell me where he went, I am going to kill him.

Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me back into an embrace. Soft lips traveled down my neck, a moan escaping my lips.

I looked behind me and saw Fang already dressed holding me, deep love filling those previous empty eyes of his.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

He nuzzled me sweetly before replying, "Something came up in the development department and they want me to check it out."

"Can't you stay a bit longer?" I asked him.

I felt his arms pull me closer to him. I took a deep breath, his scent claming me, reminding me of the heaven last night.

"I wish I could Max, but the assault is happening so soon and I need to be on top of everything." He sounded sincere.

We sat together on his bed in silence. It wasn't the usual awkward silence that constantly plagued us; instead it was one of born out of friendship. W were both at ease. Quite a dramatic change from when I used to want to kill him wouldn't you say?

"I'll go with you then," I suddenly announced.

He raised one eyebrow at me in question. There was a time when I would have been annoyed at him for that as well, I suppose.

"Well we are together now. . . aren't we?" I asked timidly afraid of being rejected. I knew he wouldn't, but there was some part of me that was still afraid.

"Max," he sighed. "If you're so afraid I'm going to run away with someone else, why don't we get married then?"

For once I couldn't think of something to say. No witty remark came to mind, no sarcastic response. All I could think of was Fang asking me to marry him.

Okay, that was a lie; I do have one witty remark in mind. "I thought you're meant to get down on your knees or something. You know, the whole sappy love scene thing."

"Max," he repeated. "Can't you take this seriously?"

"I am taking it seriously," I told him. "But have you ever heard of someone being married when no ring is present? I'd be the first and I'd go down in history as the girl who never had a wedding ring."

"Would you settle to go down in history as my wife?" he asked.

"That would do it," I announced. "I can settle with that."

I threw myself at him, kissing him soundly on the lips. Drowning on those, oh so sweet lips of his. When we finally broke apart, I leaned against him, whispering in his ear, "I couldn't think of anything better."

"Well you better get dressed then, we've got a meeting and we're already late," he whispered right back letting go of me.

I didn't bother moving though, I was content to just stay here, in his arms, feeling his heat radiating next to mine.

"Max, we've got to get going," he prodded.

"Do we have to?" I pleaded.

"You're going to have to move soon anyway, you're a lot heavy than you look. What have you been eating? Stones?"

"Why, is your head missing some?"

Reluctantly though, I rolled off him. Standing up, he walked over and sat in a chair, waiting for me.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Waiting for you to get dressed."

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait outside."

He looked at me in a silent question.

"I am not getting dressed with you watching me."

"I saw a lot more than that last night," he smirked.

Before I could throw my own retort into his face, he slipped out of the room.

Mumbling under my breath about Fang being cocky and smug and another bunch of insults not suitable for children, I pulled my clothes from off the ground and slipped into them. Fang's scent still clung to them.

Pushing open the door, I saw Fang leaning against the wall in front of me, tapping his foot aimlessly. "Ready?"

I nodded my head.

Pushing off from the wall, he walked over towards me and lead to way to wherever it was we were going.

Running to catch up, I slid my arm around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. Breathing deeply in slow even breaths. The Arc members around us, expressed mixed reactions at Fang's obvious attachment to me. What can I say? I'm that irresistible.

Some were obviously shocked that Fang, the unemotional Arc leader had in fact found girlfriend against all odds. Some openly congratulated him, often with sly winks or a smile in his direction. Then there were those women who were openly disgusted that they had chosen me instead of them and that they were probably thinking of ways to humiliate me in some demeaning manner.

"Just how many women were hoping to be married to you?" I whispered to him after the third person had burst into tears and four others had already sent me death glares.

"About all of them," he replied with a wince.

"Oh my god!!" screamed a voice.

We both visibly winced at the voice. We both recognized it and we both wished it was somebody other than her who had found us. Even Total would have been better. . . or not.

"Oh my god!!" Nudge screamed once again. "You two are. . . And you're. . . I can't believe it!! You're finally together!! I mean, holy cow, we took bets as to when you two would get together because you were obviously in love with each other, but you wouldn't admit it and then Ari almost killed Fang and on the beach and you two kissed, but you guys still wouldn't admit it and then. . ."

I am glad to say, that at that point in time, Angel came up from behind her and promptly sealed off her mouth. Now why did she have to go and do that? I mean it was _so_ interesting. Well, it was as interesting as watching paint dry. On second thought, watching paint dry is more fun.

The greatest thing about being trapped in a mental institute for four years is the fact that people don't talk to you and everything is silent. Sure at first it got on my nerves, but compared with this, it is heaven.

Ummm, if you're reading this Nudge, or if Angel tells it to you later, I'm very sorry for everything that was just said and it was Eraser Max talking. . . honest.

We slowly eased our way away after we had confirmed that were 'officially' a couple as they term it. You see, apparently we acted as a couple before, but it wasn't 'official.' We apparently have to do something first. And I have no idea what that something is. . .

Angel's eyes sudden widened in surprise, picking something up from either me or Fang. "Have you shown her the ring yet?"

"Ring?" I turned to face Fang. "What ring is she talking about?"

Almost guiltily, he reached into his pocket and drew out a ring. Not any plain and simple wedding ring, it was wedding ring alright, but its design was in the shape of a pair of wings. In the center where the two met was the stone. The stone wasn't anything spectacular, but the wing design on the rings were spectacular. That's what really took my breath away.

Those immediately around us who were originally giving sly looks at Fang started celebrating and those who already hated me for just placing my hand around him were sending telepathic death threats. When you've been on the run for so long, you develop an instinct for those who wish to harm you. And man, where those vibes evil.

"I was hoping to dot his in private," he muttered under his breath.

"Just get down on your knees and do it properly this time," I told him, patting him on the head as he knelt down before me.

He growled at the action, but he complied with what I asked him to do. "Maximum Ride, will you marry me?"

I'm sure I could have simply said yes and let those around us cheer, but I'm Max after all and it's not everyday I get to prolong Fang's suffering.

Placing a finger to my mouth, I pretended to mull it over, tapping my foot.

"Well. . ." I started, looking critically down at him. "I suppose so." I finally accepted.

"You suppose so?" he asked me, meeting my eye.

"Yes I accept," I told him.

The cheering around us grew to a roar, masking those who shrieked in fury. Man, I never get tired of the sound of people screaming in frustration.

People gather around, pounding us on the back in congratulations, even Angel and Nudge joined in. Attracted by the sound, more people came into the already crowded corridor. Soon the news was being echoed back and forth.

"How did a simple trip to the science labs turn out like this?" muttered Fang so only I could hear him.

"You can thank our resident mind leach for that," I replied.

"I though you taught her not to do that anymore," he yelled back.

"Just when were you going to propose properly?" I asked him.

"When we were alone."

"Because you knew this would be the reaction."

"Obviously."

We let them carry on in the celebration as we were hoisted onto their shoulders and carried around the corridors. It wasn't until this moment did I realize how many people actually lived here in these underground caverns.

A thought passed my mind. "Who's going to perform the ceremony?"

"Usually we get the family members or close friends to preside, but in this case I was thinking of Orphius."

"Are you insane? Who's ever heard of a wolf presiding over a wedding ceremony?"

"Who's ever heard of a talking wolf?"

"There's bound to be someone better suited for the job."

"Okay, let's go through family members. There's Nudge who will talk forever and ever and ever, there's Gazzy who'll blow everything up or make a joke out of it with his voice, Angel's too young, and don't even mention Total, Vic might work, but she's almost as bad as Nudge." He ticked them of one by one. "The only logical conclusion is Orphius who we both know. Plus he will take it seriously. . . or at least if he values his life he will." Deaths threats from Fang are not to be taken lightly. "We could try to convince Iggy, but we never know what's going to happen if he appears."

"Fine what about the date?"

"After all of this is done."

"You mean after Itex has fallen?"

"Exactly."

"Wouldn't it be a good boost for moral though to have t before the assault?"

"There are some people who I want to be present at the ceremony who aren't with us right now. Plus, having the ceremony will take a couple of days to organize, days we don't have. You know as well as I that the attacks taking place in about two days time. There is just no time."

Grudgingly, I accepted what Fang said as the only plausible solutions. Plus, he's engaged now and everyone knows it. I seriously can't wait to bring down those women a peg or two, especially since I have a reason now.

"_Congratulations Max," _chimed in the voice.

Now my day is complete. Thank. You. Voice.

**A/N Reviews are welcome.**


	33. Flyboys

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Also, this is just the beginning of fusing between my story and MR3. Tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. Except Orphius, he's mine.**

Chapter XXXII: Flyboys.

Max POV

Me and Fang. . . Sorry, Fang and I stumbled into the room. The Voice gets testy from time to time if I'm grammatically incorrect. Why, I have no idea. We were a couple of hours late thanks to the crowd outside, but we did arrive in the end. Took a while, but we are here.

The room had computers lining the walls and there was a low buzzing that filled my ears. Scientists scrambled past, moving from room to room, carrying trays of who know what. Dangerous chemicals no doubt.

On the bright side, they weren't wearing lab coats and there wasn't an antiseptic smell. Otherwise, I would have been out of there.

"Where have you people been?" demanded an annoyed voice that belonged to no other than Gazzy.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. "I thought you were off developing bombs or something."

"I'm here doing something more important things," he sniffed, putting on the voice of a snobby rich person. "They drafted me when they heard of my expertise. But what I really need to know is what took you so long?"

"We ran in to some trouble," replied Fang, brushing off his clothes. "There better be a good for you to tell me to come down here."

"We found a solution to your problem," he answered, shuffling away motioning for us to follow him.

He took us on, what I can only call, the grand tour. Sure, it might sound important and. . . grand. . . but truth be told, it wasn't even close. They had all sorts of inventions under production, most of which were placed on hold until after the assault.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at something on the other side of the shatter proof glass. It was car, at least that's what it looked like, but the reason it was here eluded me.

"It's a car Max," replied Fang without looking over his shoulder.

"But why is it here?"

"It's a new car we're currently designing." His pace didn't even slow.

"I can see it's a car, but it seems out of place. Everything else here has been futuristic, but this. . ." I waved my arm.

"It's a car designed to run on dihydrogen monoxide. There are no harmful byproducts released unlike petroleum and it is a reusable resource," expanded Gazzy. "It in no way damages the environment. We're currently working on something that will run off either solar energy or wind. After all, there's only so much of it in the world."

Dihydrogen Monoxide. Dihydrogen monoxide. Why does that sound so familiar? I really should know this one. Di means two, mono means one. Two hydrogen's and one oxygen. So that means. . .

"You developed a car that runs on water!?!" I exclaimed, my head swiveling between the two people.

"Yep," replied Gazzy, pleased that I knew what Dihydrogen Monoxide was. "A car that runs on water and now we're moving on to air and solar power."

He must have seen the expression on my face. "It wasn't that hard Max, they didn't even need me for it. Now the missile was another matter."

"Missile?" I turned my attention Fang. "You let him work on a missile? What are you? On drugs?"

"It wasn't anything explosive," he reassured me.

"It wasn't?" Either Gazzy wasn't getting Fang's hint or he really thought it was explosive and his balloon just popped. "If it's not explosive then why is it a missile?"

"We merely needed Gazzy expertise in the field of explosions to get the rocket off the ground and spread the compound around," continued Fang.

"Compound?" Is it just me, or is it sound like chemical warfare right now.

"A basic solution that we made up in order to balance the acidity of the air that condenses into the rain, thus turning the rain neutral and harmless." He gestured for Gazzy to keep moving as he explained it to me. "We've done excessive testing on humans and myself in order to prove it harmless and not only that, but numerous people have been showered in a high concentration of the solution and then tested for any abnormalities and poisons."

"You mean you've developed something that will turn the rain to a pH of about 6 which is the natural pH of rain?" I clarified.

"I did say neutral did I?"

"You're saying that it is exactly has a pH of 7?"

He nodded his head. "You've done some large scale tests and a big factor in how much of the substance we load into the missile is dependent on the amount of rain gathered in the clouds. If we load too much of the solution, the rain will be too basic and the effects will be same as acid rain. However, if we load too little, the rain won't be neutral at all and still burn the skin."

"So in other words, it's mainly a guess and check and then hope for the best," I summarized.

He winced slightly at my choice of words, but he didn't refute them.

"I know this all interesting and everything," interrupted Gazzy. "But we are on a schedule and thanks to you people being late, we have to shuffle along." He turned his back to us. "What you came to see is just past this door."

"You can't blame them," snorted a voice. "Fang did just propose after all." Orphius stepped out of the shadow. "You got to leave the two love birds along and let nature take its course." A smirk spread across his smile. "The great leader of Arc, married. Who would have thought it possible?"

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. I just managed to escape to somewhere, where everyone hadn't heard the news yet, somewhere people weren't jumping out at us every second, or the death glares for that matter.

Gazzy's eyes widened considerably at the news. His gaze fell.

"What?" I asked Gazzy, seeing the disappointment plastered all over his face.

"We took bets as to when you two would get together." I remember Nudge saying something along those lines as well. "Looks like Iggy won."

"Iggy?" It's been so long since I've thought of him. He betrayed the Flock, betrayed them to Itex, betrayed them in the most horrible manner. If I ever. . .

My thoughts were cut off as Fang placed a hand on my shoulder, the other one drawing circles in the space between my wings. I wanted to stay mad, but I couldn't, not with Fang doing this. It took all of my willpower not to moan in pleasure.

Propelling me forwards, Fang gently pushed me into the door. I was barely aware of the strange look Gazzy shot in my direction.

Smoothly, I disengaged myself from Fang and looked at Orphius. "I shall repeat myself, why the hell are you here?"

"I used to be a scientist remember? Of course I'm here. This is where I belong. This is my second home."

Before I could reply, there was an explosion. Out of pure instinct and a life of living with both Gazzy and Iggy, I immediately dived under the nearest desk, curled into a ball and prayed to god that I would live.

Trust me, that was not an over reaction. The reactions were so deeply seared in to my mind that it took no thought at all. Living with two pyromaniacs does that to some people.

"What are you doing?" asked an amused Fang peering at me.

"Waiting for the world to end," I replied. "After all, with one of Gazzy's or Iggy's bombs, that can happen at any moment."

"That bomb wasn't made by either of them, I forbid it. I may have employed them, but that doesn't mean I'm an idiot," he replied. "It was a lesser bomb made by one of the other scientists."

"You could have told me that sooner," I grumbled, easing myself out of the space. "Old habits die hard."

"They're good habits," remarked Fang, casting a glance towards Gazzy. "When Iggy or Gazzy is involved, you better run for cover."

"And you better remember it too!!" Gazzy yelled, interrupting our conversation.

"And we will," I promised him. "Now, there was something you wanted to show me and Fang?"

"_Fang and I,"_ corrected the Voice.

"_Go away," _I replied in my trademark bored tone.

Gazzy gestured for us t follow him in to the room. Walking over towards the door that lay on the other side of the room, he typed in some numbers, before Fang stepped over and typed in some more things before the door slowly slide open with a soft hiss.

The tension in the room palpable.

Impatient, Fang gestured for me to enter. As I stepped through, the door closed, an audible click reverberated through the room as the door locked itself.

A white vapor rose from the ground and I visibly shrunk back from it, placing my back against the wall. Only Fang's hand in mine stopped me from losing it. It reminded me too much of what used to happen at the School.

"What the hell is going on?"

"It's just to make sure that there aren't any bugs on us," explained Fang, trying to calm me.

"Bugs?" So we're now having a war on bugs?

"The electronic kind."

"Oh."

Despite finding out what the mist was for, I still wasn't completely at ease. Too many bad scientific things have happened to me in the past.

Slowly, the mist settled back down and yet another door opened. Why do they have to have so many doors? Can't they shove it all in one room or something?

What lay on the other side, sent me over the edge completely. Sure, they might have deserved it, but no one should be placed through what I've been through. I didn't think Fang was capable of something like that.

What I saw, was a completely morphed out Eraser, locked in a room. Claws marks were the decoration on the walls. Sure, it wasn't a dog cage or anything, but there is only one reason for him to be there. Make that two. Either torture for information or scientific research. Neither option is particularly nice, but I hoped it was the former.

I turned on Fang, my face full of rage. Man, if he did either of those options, I am going to kill him. If it was the later option, I'll kill him and then bring him back just so I can kill him again.

"It's not what you think," he quickly reassured me. Maybe too quickly.

"Oh, then can you please enlighten me as to what the hell you are doing with a locked up, fully morphed Eraser?" I demanded.

"It's not an Eraser though," commented Gazzy.

"What?"

"Look closer," suggested Fang.

As much as the rage clouded my thinking, I allowed myself to be guided by Fang in this matter. I peered closer at the Eraser, wondering what Fang wanted me to see.

"It seems. . . odd," I stated at last for a lack of a better word.

"It seems odd because it is not a person. In fact, it's not even alive. It's a robot," supplied Fang. "We call it a Flyboy."

"Flyboy?" Does that sound as random to you as it did to me?

"They're robots with Eraser skins grown and fitted to their shape," explained Fang.

"Why is Itex using these Flyboys instead of Eraser?" I asked.

"They felt that it took too many resources to feed and maintain an army of Erasers. If you think about it, they eat almost as much as we do. Also, they felt that it took too long for them to overthrow the Asia."

"Wait, you just lost me," I admitted. "It should have been impossible for them to overthrow Asia to begin with and now they're complaining about the speed of the overthrow? Are they insane?"

"They're insane, we already knew that," prompted Gazzy.

Fang nodded his head in agreement. "The thing is, with these Flyboys, they can be mass produced, no need to feed them, clothe them, all you need to someone to make sure they're working proper. The worst part is, because they're robots, when you hurt them, they don't go down. You can tear off a limb, but they'll still come at you."

"Shouldn't there be a weak spot?" I asked them. "A fault in their design?"

"The base of their neck."

The window which we gazed through, clouded over and a picture of a Flyboy appeared. Their Eraser skin was stripped off to show the robotic structure underneath. The image rotated and zoomed in, showing the exact place that Fang was just talking about.

"It's only a matter of time before the scientists at Itex figure it out though," added Fang sadly. "And then our advantage will be lost."

There was a moment of silence after his words, but he went on. "That's why we're here. Hopefully Gazzy has come up with something."

From his pocket, Gazzy drew out a pistol, but it was like none that I've ever seen. It about the same size as a regular pistol, but it had no hammer. Instead it was smooth at the back. It was a sleek sliver design that had symbols running down the side. What they meant, I had no idea, but it looked cool.

"A gun?" stated Fang quietly.

"A gun," repeated Gazzy. "But it's the bullets that are interesting."

Carefully, he pulled out the magazine and showed us the bullets. They looked like pebbles no larger than a centimeter in diameter, however, they were perfectly spherical.

"These are especially designed to spend a sudden pulse of electricity that should over load the Flyboys system, causing it short circuit and hopefully explode," explained Gazzy. "With the amount of electricity being put out by this baby, it'll take a couple of years to find all of the pieces."

"Should?" asked Fang.

"We've only got one test subject." He jerked his thumb to indicate the Flyboy on the other side. "I wanted you guys here to see the test."

Reloading one of the spheres back in to the magazine, he stepped off into yet another adjacent room. Signaling to us that he was about to fire, a count down blared across the speakers. As it reached zero, there was a crackle and then the Flyboy slumped down. After a couple of seconds, smoke was billowing out of the machine.

Both of us looked at the minute sphere with all a new found respect.

In the other room, we could clearly hear Gazzy wondering why the whole thing did explode.

"Maybe there was a resistor," I suggested.

He looked at me and then nodded.

"What if it hits a person?" asked Fang. "I don't want people to have to constantly change ammo."

"That's the great thing about this." He held it up to the light. "It packs enough punch to kill a person." He exited, "Follow me and I'll show you."

"You don't actually plan to electrocute someone do you?" demanded Fang.

"Of course not," replied Gazzy over his shoulder. "We're using ballistics gel because it's close to human tissue and its conductivity is extremely similar. Similar enough to be used in stead of a human when testing the if a human will die from an electric shock or not.

In front of us lay a human made from ballistics gel. Two metal rods skewered his chest. Wires came out the end and lead to a laptop on a nearby table.

"We'll shot it once with the bullet and see how much power was put through the body and that should tell us if the person's dead or not," explained Gazzy. He held up the gun and looked from me to Fang. "Who wants first shot?"

Before Fang could reply, I reached out and took the gun. I didn't like the Flock using guns.

Lifting it up, I held it in both hands, placed my feet shoulder width apart and took a deep breath. Lining up the barrel and the target, I asked, "Where am I supposed to aim."

"Once in the lower arm, once in the leg, once in the stomach and the chest," he replied. "Avoid a head shot and one straight to heart. If it hits, they'll be dead any way."

Nodding my head, I fired four times, each one in the area specified, trying to get them in the middle of the limbs.

Gazzy bent over the data that appeared on the screen. The suspense hung in the air. Finally he looked up. "The person's dead."

I didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

"So it worked then?" asked Orphius as he strolled into the room.

"Was anyone hurt?" asked Fang, ignoring the question posed.

"A couple. One person might lose her vision, but the others had minor injures. They're being treated right now."

"Guess we better check on them then," remarked Fang sighing.

Dutifully, Orphius turned around and led the way.

**A/N Reviews would be nice and please tell me what you thought about the fusion between this and MR3.**


	34. Guess Who?

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Once again, this chapter is shorter than I would have liked it.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. But Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXIII: Guess Who?

Total POV

Me and Angel walked around the corridors, just walking. We've been here for almost a week and according to the timetable Fang gave us, the main assault on Itex was to take place soon. Any day now, it would begin.

"I still can't believe that Fang and Max are going to be married," I remarked out loud, looking at Angel. I was sure Angel had some part in that little announcement.

"It took a bit of a nudge, but it was for a good cause," remarked Angel.

"Did you just read my mind?"

"Would I do a thing like that?" She gave me her wide eyed innocence.

Few people can withstand that puppy dog gaze for long, both Fang and Max has cracked under it before and I guess it's my turn now. If I knew she was going to pull that one, I wouldn't have looked at her. But, it was too late now.

"Angel," I wined. "That's cheating."

"I never knew we were playing a game," was the innocent reply.

"Did you really have to alter him?" I asked her seriously.

"Not that much. He would get around to asking her, but he was too afraid of being rejected." A sigh escaped her lips. "It's hard to imagine Fang being afraid of anything, but he was. He can face a multitude of Erasers and come out on top, he can look down the barrel of a gun and not even flinch, but when it comes to Max, he just doesn't know what to do. He was lost Total. He knew what he had to do, but he was afraid of being rejected. You know Max was and how much she hated him."

"Did you then alter with Max?" I asked her.

"No." Her hair shifted as she shook her head. "I can't alter her, she's got two voices in her head and so she's 'sensitive' to people fiddling with her mind. When I tried to gain leadership of the Flock, she fought against me. The most that I've ever encountered was a slight barrier, but she was actually conscious of what I was doing and stopped me."

I gazed over at her concerned, it was the first time she's ever brought up her ability of mind controlling other people. I never asked how it worked and she never talked about it. I guess she was ashamed of the way she used the skill in order to gain leadership. How she had pushed Max over the edge when all Max has ever done is look after her. Maybe now, she's starting to come to terms with what she had done. Maybe now, she's starting to forgive herself.

"I wonder where they are," mused Angel.

"In Fang's room," I snickered, ducking through a pair of legs.

"Total." She sounded shocked.

Before she had tome to fully reprimand me, there came an explosion. Angel immediately threw herself to one side. I've seen enough of Gazzy's bombs in action to appreciate the maneuver and I've suffered Iggy's once which is probably more deadly. After a couple of days with those two, some things are implanted into mind that can not be gotten rid of.

Huddled together under the table, we waited. When no more explosions came, we hesitantly made our way out. No demolished walls, no gaping holes that a country could fit through. Definitely not the work of Gazzy or Iggy then.

"We better hurry along and take a look if anyone got hurt," suggest Angel.

"Won't be that bad, it wasn't made by either Gazzy or Iggy otherwise half the compound would be gone by now."

"We still have to check."

"I was just saying it won't be that bad."

Following the stream of people who were also rushing to see if anyone needed any help, we weaved our way between them. In front of us, lay total destruction.

Rubble littered the floor, blood smeared along the ground in eccentric runes that spelt death and destruction.

A charred pit in the center of the room, rag dolls thrown in all directions, smoke that blinded ones sight. All of it, every last one, was a tribute to the destructive power that was just witnessed by a select few.

Already on the scene was Orphius, moving from person to person, checking for signs of life. A response, any response, was what he sought. And that was what he was rewarded with.

"Go grab a doctor," in instructed, not bothering to look up.

"No need!!" cried a voice.

Slowly, the owner of the voice, waded through the mass and plopped out of the crowd, stumbling as she regained her balance.

Orphius glanced up and saw who it was that just spoke. "Ella where's your mother?"

"I've been trained in medicine," she retorted.

"You were trained in veterinary and you've only just started doctoring. Your mother is more experience than you are." The tone of voice gave the impression of no argument.

"My mother was also trained to be a vet as well," she reminded him.

"I know, but she has more experience."

"As seen as you've had no training so far, why don't you go off and find my mother and I'll stay here and treat these patients." Not waiting for a response, she stalked over towards the most heavily injured.

Kneeling down, she opened her case and started getting to work.

"Someone get some hot water," she called over her shoulder. "Some stretchers as well would be nice."

At first no one moved, but a flurry of action followed her orders.

"Orphius get over here and help me with this."

Sighing sadly, he did what he was told. "Yes dear." He trudged over, obeying her every command like an obedient hound.

"Dear?" I mouthed to Angel.

She shrugged indicating she had no idea what Orphius was going on about either, let along his meek attitude.

"Total, Angel, go to the hospital we've set up here and ask for Dr. Martinez. She should be there somewhere and tell her to come immediately," yelled Orphius.

Turning around, we were about to do as he bid, when his voice stopped us. "If you mention this to any one and I mean anyone at all, you'll wish you died a long and horrible death instead of the one I've got in mind." He looked back at us. "You got that?"

"That's not very nice Orphius," reprimanded Ella. "You shouldn't go threatening people like that."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

We hastily made our exit, laughter threatening to over burst and who knows what Orphius would do then?

Probably growl at us until Ella told him not to.

"Who was the girl?" I asked Angel.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully. "I never knew anyone could make him act like that except maybe Fang. He doesn't even listen Max. He only does that when he feels like it."

"Could you pick anything up from Orphius then?" I questioned.

"A couple of jumbled emotions, but no thoughts. Animals are always harder than people."

"What about the girl?"

"I don't pry into other people's affair Total."

"Fine. I was curious that's all."

We kept walking in silence, I was thinking about who that mysterious girl was and Angel was doing who thinking about who knows what.

Finally we arrived at our destination. Pushing the door open, we wondered around aimlessly looking for someone who resembled a doctor.

"Excuse me," asked Angel sweetly. "We're looking for a Dr. Martinez."

"Over there." He pointed off in the direction of the office.

Nodding our thanks, we moved off.

"Excuse us," we called out hesitantly. "But are you Dr Martinez?"

"Yes, who's asking?" she replied looking up from her chart.

"There's been an accident and you've been requested to help." Even before Angel had finished speaking, she had gathered up her gear.

"Where is it?" she asked.

We exchanged a glance. "We're not sure," we finally admitted.

"Show me the way then," she ordered in a similar tone as the other girl had used.

Nodding our heads, we ran ahead of her, not bothering to see if she was keeping up or not.

"Is someone else there?" she demanded.

"Yeah," I replied. "Ella is."

She gaped momentarily at me in shock, but managed to recover in what has to be record time and nodded her head. "She's better than most," she admitted.

We continued on in silence. When we arrived, most of the victims were treated except a three, four were already carried off and the rest only sustained minor injuries.

The rubble was still there and blood still stained the ground, but I suppose the people were more important. A tape cornered off the area to prevent people from passing in, but when the guards saw Dr Martinez coming, the immediately let us through.

"Need any help?" she asked, walking over with a purpose.

"We're fine," replied Ella. "But I was hoping you could start checking on the others."

"Sure."

Crouching down, Dr Martinez started working.

"Orphius you can leave now," stated Ella. "Go tell Fang the results."

"But. . ." he protested.

"Orphius, please?" She turned her face so that she looked directly at him.

He still hesitated though. Unsure of what it is he should do. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he must.

Sighing once, he nudged Ella on the shoulder before turning and moving away. It seemed like more than a nudge though. That was the way it looked, but I got some impression that there was something more than being a simple gesture.

Call it a sixth sense.

"Are you two going to stand there all day?" asked Ella. "Come on and help he get these people to the hospital."

Angel pushed of from the wall and walked over. Reaching over, she hefted a person into her arms bridal style and waited for Ella to go first.

"You can carry the person by yourself?" She sounded surprised.

"Sure," replied Angel with a shrug. "It's not that difficult."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she went first, walking at a steady pace.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	35. Day Darker Than Death Outstretched

**A/N Thanks for all reviews. This is the start of the assault. Itex is either going to fall or Arc is going down. Either way, Arc is not going down without a fight and neither is Itex. For those who are wondering, no you did not read the chapter heading wrong. This is merely the start. This is the first section of the plan, but only the first part of it. More is coming.**

**This was originally meant to be Chapter 35, but people have been bugging me about action so I moved it up a spot.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

Chapter XXXIV

Day Darker Than Death Outstretched

Max POV

How long have I been here? A couple of seconds? A minute? Hours? I don't know. Time seems meaningless right now.

Have you ever had that experience whereby everything's moving in slow motion? How time seems to be sloshing past. There's always that reverberating echo of the clock in the background as time slipped through your fingers. Sands in an hourglass. Have you ever suffered from that?

Do you remember how every minute detail is seared into your mind forever. It's just one of those things that you can't remove no matter how much you want to. It'll stay there, until you die.

Sure the minute details may not be seared into my mind yet, but it did seem as time was moving ever slowly. Happened to me before, but I've always had a watch back then. Man, I wish I had a watch right now.

You have no idea what I'm going on about do you? Well, I could give you the long winded version, but I'm on a time table and I hate being late for a party. So just imagine this and you'll be fine.

Imagine its night, there is no moonlight. Next imagine the aftermath of a country being in ruins. Skyscrapers standing at half height, roads cracked and rubble everywhere. No, there are no mutated animals or undead zombies, this isn't Resident Evil after all, this isn't a fantasy. This is reality and it is so much worse than my nightmare.

Now, in the center of all the rubble add in this. A single tower that rose up into the sky. Around that place a wall that is about ten stories high and all along the perimeter at even intervals place four towers. Now around that, place yet another wall at half the height of the other with eight towers along the edge this time.

Got the picture? Good, we're almost there.

A red glow is emitted from the place tinting the place blood red. As a final touch place as much of the stereotypical evil aura and you're almost there. Why I say almost? Because nothing can express the amount of evil coming from that place. Major bad vibes.

As for me? I, with a couple hundred people, were moving through the rubble in camouflaged clothes. Oh, did I say lying out in the rubble. I should really say _under _the rubble. Don't try it, trust me. Not fun.

Slowly, ever so cautiously, we edged closer to the Itex base. Snaking through the rubble. The only way we could do this is because the rubble was held up thanks to the destroyed infrastructure. If you're envisioning a large tunnel, you are the pure definition of optimism. We had to crouch down and not touch anything. One simple foot in the wrong place could send the roof crashing down on us. Fun, fun, fun.

Please note the sarcasm in the last paragraph or so. If you haven't noticed it before then, I know a couple of things to call you ad none of them are nice. . . Sorry, today is not my best day.

Gesturing at the people behind me, I motioned everyone forward and up the ladder. Once everyone was finally through, I shimmied up after them, still staying low.

We were a couple miles away, but even at this distance the walls seemed inhumanly large. The red hue reached this far.

"**Max, are you ready?"** It took all of my self control not to jump at the voice.

Yes Angel is talking via her mind control ability and I am not happy about. That is one long talk I'm going to have with Fang when this is all over. A nice long talk.

"_I'm ready over here, what about the others?" _I replied, suppressing some of my emotions.

"**Gazzy, Orphius and I are done. Fang and Nudge are silent," **came the immediate reply. **"Wait. . ." **There was a silence in my mind. **"Nudge is done, but Fang is still away."**

"_What's taking him so long?" _I demanded irritated.

Everyone waited tensed up, ready to pounce. But if even one person was out of place, the whole plan could come crashing down around us. Like this building.

"**He's done," **chimed Angel. **"I'll be counting down. On three."**

We all know what this means. Whenever one of us says on three, it's always on one. Strange really.

"**Three!!"**

I don't know if she spoke to everyone at once including the soldiers or what, but I didn't even have to open my mouth. The 'squad' I was in charge of leapt into actions.

Guns were raised. A fraction of those who worked as snipers took up positions in the building securing our escape route while the rest tagged along the back. Last to leave the shelter were the demolition crew.

Silhouetted against the red glow was a missile. It arced up to the apex and exploded. There was nothing fancy, no big explosion. It was not per see an offensive weapon, but a two edged sword. It was a transmission jammer. Note, it jammed transmission. Any and all transmissions. Except Angel's ability of course.

Before we even reached the wall, fire started sounding from the turrets up above. They saw us coming. Those unfortunate to not have reacted fast enough were shot where they stood, but that was only a minority. The rest managed to find shelter in time.

"I need a sniper over here!!" One immediately found her way to my side. "Here." I handed over some red bullets. "Use these and take out those turrets."

She gave me a skeptical look then shook her head. "No offense, but I need no cheap bullets."

Taking careful aim with the sniper, she shot four times in rapid succession. At first there didn't seem to be a change, but it was only after she had repeated the process did I realize that the turrets were stopping.

"The glass maybe be bullet proof, but four shots in the same location?" She shrugged. "I'd like to see them stop that. Especially with this baby, .55 caliber bullets."

Nodding my thanks, I gestured for everyone to proceed once again.

Reaching the wall, two expert detonators ran up from behind and attached the bombs to the wall. There was no need for warnings, everyone took cover immediately.

There was a loud explosion. And that my friends, is the understatement of the air. When people are thrown back even though they're prepared for it, a _loud explosion _is no where near describing it. Pushing off the rubble that had found itself on top of me, I raced through the smoke.

There was just a moment of silence before gunfire erupted in every direction. There were more than I expected. More than anyone expected I think. They were everywhere. They looked like Eraser, but I knew they weren't. But. . .

Lifting my gun, I let the bullets flow. There was no point in aiming, there were so many of them that it was pointless, you were bound to hit someone.

Diving to cover under the nearest object, I shielded my head as bullets chipped away at my precious cover. I quickly removed the magazine and clipped in a fresh one.

"What do you think we should do capt'n?" asked a soldier next to me.

"We do what we came to do. Kick some Itex butt," I replied.

Lifting a whistle to my mouth, I blew as hard as I could. Immediately those in the fray scattered. A hail of bullets showered from the gaping hole. Shredding the Flyboys into scrap metal.

Beside them on the crimson ground lay those who had died even before the battle had begun. Their eyes lifeless.

That scene will haunt me forever.

I gestured for the group to split up. They knew where each of them were going and what their job was.

My group immediately split up in to four sections. One went left and another went right, clearing the inside of the wall of all enemies. The third party stood where they were, keeping our escape route open and making sure no one flanked us. The last party followed me as we ascended the tower.

"_Angel how's everything going over there?" _I took this brief respite to catch up to speed.

"**Busy." **Was all the reply I got and I could see why.

Everywhere around me, gun flashes were visible. Every tower except one was engaged at the moment. That one tower that was already done was one which was not assigned to either one of the Flock members or Orphius. Whoever it was assigned to Fang kept it a secret.

"Spread out!!" I commanded. "Snipers aim for the other turrets or leaders if the range isn't too far. I want four people to man the turrets here. Swivel them around to face the inside. I want people to keep a look out in both directions for sings of assault. I want another five keep a look out for scouts from the other teams."

They jumped to obey my instructions. None of them questioning my commands or arguing over what job they wanted.

"Keep your guns primed at all times," I continued. "And if any of you die, I'll bring you back to life and kill you again."

"Mam, the turrets are not able to swivel around," reported one of my soldiers.

"Disable the turrets," I replied curtly. "Make sure none of them will function anytime soon. You can either shoot them to pieces or blow them up. Your choice."

"I think I'll shoot them up," replied the soldier. "If we blow won't be announcing the fact that we've take the tower?"

I smiled sadly down at him. "Good thinking. Go do it."

"_Max," _came the Voice.

Why, why couldn't the jammer have shut him up as well?

"_Duck!!" _I didn't bother questioning him. Or wasting anytime either.

"Duck!!" I yelled as I hit the floor. The people around immediately followed. Those who looked around in question died.

Spinning around, I fired when I saw the Flyboys, people around did the same. There were hundreds of them, all bearing down at us at the same time. It didn't take minutes to empty my gun, but seconds. Cursing, I wrenched out the magazine, but before I had time to input a new one, the Flyboys were already bearing down on me.

Pivoting on one foot, I brought up my foot, allowed momentum to take over and smashed it straight in the face. It crumpled down in a heap at my feet. Thank God to whoever invented steel capped shoes.

Ducking low, I blocked a punch and retaliated with one of my own, straight to the stomach. One piece of advice, do not hit something made out of metal. It hurts.

Lying sprawled on the ground, I quickly rolled off to the side and got on to my feet. Sidestepping yet another blow, I managed to circle behind it and struck it at its weak point.

In the end, we would have lost if it was not for someone being smart enough to use an EMP. Putting the Flyboys out of action long enough for us to kill them all.

It was also only then did my brain process ever single injury I had sustained. Cuts, bruises and a few gun wounds flooded my head all at once.

Pain is a message. That's all pain is, just a message. Block out the message and you block out the pain.

"Some get these people back to the medics!!" I ordered, not letting shock show.

It wasn't their appearance that shocked me, nor the damage we had sustained, but the fact that there was no warning. The scouts down stairs should have warned us, there should have been a gun battle. But there wasn't one.

When I saw the carnage wrecked down stairs I swore. I swore long and hard and when I ran out and started repeating myself, the soldier beside me taught me how to swear in French.

My shoes were soaked in blood and we had to wade through even more as we checked each person in turn. All of them had their throats slit.

"Fan out!!" I ordered. "Search for anything out of place. I want three scouts to move down each side corridor and tell the others to get back here. Tell them they've got five minutes before I bring down the side corridors!!"

Those who weren't being sick raced off.

"_Angel, there are hidden corridors in this place. I had scouts on the bottom floor and none of them raised the alarm as they were slaughtered. I sent out two groups down either tunnel and haven't heard back from them yet. Tell everyone. There are hidden tunnels."_

"**Max. . ."**

"_Just past the message on."_

There was a soft grating sound as stone rubbed against stone. "Found it!!"

"We're back!!" exclaimed a second.

Turning around, coming down the left corridor was all of the soldiers I sent down there. Not one seemed to be missing. They halted to a stop just before the red sea.

"What happened?" whispered the one in front.

"Secret passage," I remarked pointing at the tunnel. "I need you guys to stay down here and keep an eye out for things. In one more minute if the other group doesn't appear I need you to bring down the side corridors. We'll be down there. If it is another tunnel like we feared, we'll bring it down as well. That should stop anymore surprise attacks."

They nodded in understanding, each moving off to take a defensive position. Alert at all times.

A quarter of my force. A quarter, wiped out in one surprise attack. Just like that. And if the other quarter didn't come back. . .

**A/N Reviews would be nice. **


	36. Fate's Hand

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all. But Orphius is mine and so is the storyline.**

Chapter XXXV: Fate's Hand

Max POV

We crouched in the water. Gazing from side to side, none of us wanting to make the first move. Dimly behind us, the light shone done in to the murky depths. If I gripped the pistol any harder, I swear it'll break.

My hands weren't shaking, and for that I was grateful, but my arms were getting sore and I had no idea how much longer I had to keep this up.

My eyes darted from side to side, my ears listened intently, but there was nothing. Was it something that I imagined? Or was there really a sound? I don't know, the few people with me heard as well so I should probably use that as an indication that I wasn't crazy. But being in this place for so long and witnessing so much death is bound to start affecting everybody sooner or later.

I closed my eyes for a second, to give them a rest. I give me a short amount of time to refocus myself. And that's when I heard it again.

That soft splash as footsteps made their way through the water. Opening my eyes, I looked over at where the noise came from and sure enough, there was the reminiscence of ripples. This time I was sure.

Closing my eyes so that the others wouldn't see and neither would the enemy, I changed my eyes. Shifting them from the usual to the unusual. I allowed my eyes to take the form of that of a wolf's. Immediately the tunnel lighted up as my eyes drank in the dim light, but at the same time, I could make out shimmers. A vague shape. A lot of vague shapes.

Dropping my left hand behind my back, I signaled at my group. Pulling the trigger, I aimed for the largest cluster of shimmers as I dived for cover. There was a couple seconds of silence as the ones from Itex computed what had just happened while my men went for shelter and slipped on their masks.

That silence lasted about. . . I dunno. . . three seconds?

After that, well, I think all hell broke loose is too nice a description. If anyone has a good description, please send it to Sorry, but it looks as if the email address was censored out by Itex. Damn them and their evil plans to take over the world.

Emptying my gun, I looked up from where I was bunkered and knew that there was no way we could win this battle. There was nothing we could do. Sure we could hold them off for a couple of minutes, but eventually they would overrun us.

Placing in a new magazine, I glanced up and had just enough time to a shimmering shape above me. The choices were simple, try to get the gun up in time to shoot the &(&!# and probably be shot first or I could do something that has a likelier chance of survival. For me anyway.

Throwing the gun in his face, he staggered back surprised. Lunging up from where I was, I tackled him to the ground, pushing his head under. Not waiting for him to drown, I aimed straight for his neck and snapped it in a similar manner as the first time I killed Ari.

One important rule in fighting, never leave your back exposed at anytime.

Keeping my hold on the body, I rolled, bringing it up on top of me as I went under. The taste and smell of that sewage is not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.

Letting go, I twisted and grabbed hold of the uneven ground, pulling me along under water as the body floated on the surface acting as a decoy. Moving off towards the side, I surfaced under the cover of shadows.

Pulling a whistle, the same whistle as the one I used before, I blew a sharp command. The sound soared over the battle and even as the echo faded, my men were already retreating. The Ghosts must have thought they were winning and pressed on the attack.

"Idiots!!" I called.

They spun faster than I though possible and looked straight at me. Every last one of them looked straight me. I'm sure that they all wanted to kill me, but I couldn't tell, after all I could only see a shimmer and nothing substantial.

Okay I lied, when they all start moving towards you like a pack of blood thirsty hounds, you know you're in trouble.

I moved back, keeping the distance between us the same. I cast a quick glance over my shoulders and saw of my people well out of sight. I glanced back, glad they hadn't used my momentary lapse as a chance to get closer.

"It's been fun," I told them sweetly. "And I would love to stay for the main show, but I've got to run."

I opened my wings and they all stopped startled before moving closer at an even faster rate.

"Or in my case fly, so. . . " I kicked off the ground. "Send me a postcard when you reach hell will you?"

Without further stalling, I reached into my pocket and clicked a button. With a sharp flap of my wings, I activated my super speed and got the hell out of there. Off in the distance, I could see the ground and walls shaking violently.

Up above, rocks were already falling downwards, blocking off the path back to the tower. At first it was just a couple of boulders, but with each second that passed, more and more room was lost. Until there was a gap so small, I would have to fold up my wings and pray.

But it never got that far. It never came to praying or hoping for the best. It ended before that.

Tucking my wings, I let my momentum carry me forwards as I attempted to tumble turn out of water. For those who don't know what that is, it's basically a forward flip.

As my feet touched solid rock, I kicked off and flared open my wings. Let me see, I was traveling about 250mph, factor in my weight and the fact that I pushed off from a wall and the answer is this. I was traveling very, very fast. And guess what's the dumbest thing someone can do in a situation like that? If you guessed coming to a sudden stop, you would be right.

I gritted my teeth and once again I blocked out the message. Block out the message and the pain disappears as well.

Leaning against the wall, I took a couple of deep breaths as I readied myself. Pushing off from the wall, the sound of running footsteps came closer. The grumbling didn't stop and stones continued to fall down, but I had bigger things on my mind. Like, a dozen or so Ghosts bearing down on me, intent on shredding me to pieces. And that was if they were being nice. If they weren't, well. I could end up in the hands of a society filled with sadistic mad scientists that were high and has no morale's what's so ever.

And what would these sadistic mad scientists that were high and has no morale's what's so ever do? Well, I'd rather not know. But it probably goes along the lines of performing a bunch of experiments that can only be carried out by sadistic mad scientists that were high and has no morale's what's so ever. Did I mention they weren't human either?

This is going to be _just so much fun_

If you missed the sarcasm. . . I'll just shut up now. After all mommy and daddy say if you have nothing good to say, you shouldn't say anything.

As they slowed to a stop before me, they fanned out and I was glad to see that they only had half of their numbers left. Lifting my arms, I slide easily into my fighting stance and waited. As I did, I let my arm morphed slowly into a claw. I needed every advantage I could get.

Total POV

A sudden rumble sent everyone onto the floor. Each seeking shelter where they could. There were a few however like Ella who stayed where they were, bent over the injured and continued working. Ignoring the shaking earth and the rumbling.

Slowly the earthquake subsided, almost as if it was reluctant.

"There might be a lot of injured coming in the next couple of minutes," announced Ella, not bothering to look up. "I want everyone to be ready. If there's too many, leave those that can't be saved and tend to those less injured. And when I say they can't be saved, I mean if it will take over a couple of minutes to save them."

She continued, speaking directly to me, "Total, I want you to contact Angel and see if she knows what happened."

I stared at her. It was a hard call she just made, something that even the most experienced doctors would be unwilling to make, but she did it without a second thought.

Nodding my head, I kept a close eye on her as I turned to my mental link with Angel. _"Angel?"_

"**What Total? I busy right now."**

"_Did you feel that earthquake?"_

"**It was no earthquake. Someone let of a Gazzy grade bomb off underground. I'm still trying to establish who let t off."**

"_Do you have any ideas who it might have been?"_

"**Not yet. I've reduced it down to either Fang, Orphius or Max. Wait a sec and I'll get back to you."**

"Well?" asked Ella.

"She's looking. It's either Fang, Orphius or Max," I reported.

"You do realize I have no idea what you're talking about don't you?" she stated.

"Sorry. Someone let off a bomb underground and. . ."

At that point Angel decided to chime in. **"It was Max. Max set off the bomb underground."**

"What's going on?" demanded Ella, but I held up a paw for silence.

"**So far there's been no sighting of Max. No one knows if she survived or not."**

I let out a whimper and flopped on to the ground.

"What is it?" said Ella.

"Max, she let off a bomb and no one knows if she survived," I whispered, not wanting to say it. Let along believe it.

"Max, is gone? My sister is gone?"

The desperation in her voice made me look up. "I'm sure Max will be just fine, she's. Wait, did you just say you sister!?!" I screamed the last half.

She nodded mutely. "Mum didn't want to tell Max when she came to our house four years ago. But after Itex first launched the attack, she was drafted back to Itex and they used me as hostage. At first I didn't know why they wanted my mother, but she told me the truth."

"Did you ever find out who your father was?"

"No, she wouldn't tell me. Every time I asked, she would tell me that it wasn't her secret to reveal."

I was going to pry further, but at that moment, a familiar scent hit my nose. Eyes widening, I leapt up and turned. Sure enough, the person that faced me was familiar. Certain features were different, but the way he walked and his scent said it all.

A growl emitted from my throat, as I gazed at him. I opened my mouth to warn Ella to stay back, but she shot out from behind me and threw herself into his arms. Sobbing into his chest.

"Hush Ella. It's alright, everything is alright," he soothed. "Everything will be fine."

"It's Max. She let off a bomb underground and no one's seen her since," she said between gasps of air.

"That explosion?" He sounded shocked and a trifle concerned.

"Stop acting as if you care," I spat. "You sold us out you worthless scum."

"Fang still hasn't explained that?"

"What is there to explain. You sold us out to Itex. You decided to change sides. You should be. . . "

"That's enough Total," commanded Iggy.

I looked at him shocked. At all the time he was leader, he had never used that tone of voice. There was something about it that made me shut up.

He looked down and hugged Ella closer to him. A tender look on his face. The same look that Max and Fang were exchanging before they separated.

"It's okay Ella. I promised I would come back and I did. I would never leave you. Never." With those words, he pulled Ella closer into a fierce embrace.

"I know Iggy, but. . ."

"Hush, everything is alright. Max is going to be fine. She's been in tougher situations before. She'll get out of it somehow. She'll be fine. You just watch and see. Everything is going to be fine."

Despite the pretty speech, I didn't trust him. After he had left the Flock, I doubt I'll ever be able to trust him. Fang better have a good reason r I swear I am going to shred him to pieces.

**A/N Reviews would be nice. **


	37. Kill Ari

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Storyline and Orphius are mine.**

Chapter XXXVI: Kill Ari

Total POV

I stood watch that night and I took it seriously. I kept my eyes on Iggy the whole entire time and when he didn't do anything, I still stalked him. Until Fang got here and explained everything, I am not going to stop. If you don't like it, sue me.

Leaning against the wall, Iggy rested, gazing over Ella as she worked the night shift. Truth be told, I think she worked every shift. I haven't seen her take time off yet and I doubt she ever will.

Every so often she would sit down, waiting to se if the medicine was working. That was when Iggy would walk over and gather her up in his arms and whisper in her ear or kiss her neck or whatever. I never got close enough to listen to what it was he was saying.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Orphius just gazing at them. It as if he was in his own place. I offered to play chess with him, to take his mind off whatever it was, but he never replied and soon I gave up.

Whenever Iggy talked to him, he would reply in short sharp answers, similar to the ones Fang used to give. He wasn't hostile in terms of the word, but he wasn't completely playing nice either.

And if his gaze shifted to Ella, they would almost soften. Wolf's don't smile or laugh in the term of the word. Instead their body language shows it. And their eyes. I don't think there's any animal who has managed to mask emotions shown in their eyes. And his eyes would soften every time he looked at Ella.

But if Iggy joined them, it still held that note, but there was also sadness. And in that sadness, joy. Talk about complex. I can't explain it, it was as if he was happy and sad at the same time. I know, not much sense, but you'd have to be here to understand. You'd have to look into his eyes.

Max POV

Taking slow breaths, I pushed myself closer up against the wall. My hand strayed to my gun, only to be met with empty air. I had forgotten when I lost it, let along that it was gone. Each time I went for it, I was painfully reminded that I was faced with an impossible problem. There was no solution.

But nothing is ever impossible and sometimes all a miracle needs is a helping hand. Or two. But in this case, I doubt an army would be enough to pull it off.

Reaching down, I took the goggles off the dead solider that floated by and strapped them on. Up above me, I could still hear the battle continuing.

That slight vibration through the walls, the muffled gun fire. Words, were beyond my hearing. I had no idea who was winning and I was afraid to find out. This was a last ditch effort. If this failed then. . .

I eased myself forwards, until the water level was at my chin. Taking one final breath, I ducked under and slowly swam forwards. Thanks to the goggles, I was now able to see and after I had seen what was under the murky water, I wished I hadn't.

One thing jumped out at me when I was under that I didn't expect was the sheer number of skulls that littered the waterway. What shocked me even more was that not all of them were humans, there were some that were obviously hybrids like the Flock. Some even had wings.

There were so many, just so many of them. I think I lost count after I passed the hundredth skull; either that or it was the two hundredth. I don't really want to know. I'm afraid what the real number might be.

Finally, I surfaced, wading as I took a couple shaky breaths to settle my nerves. I waited until I was certain I would not puke before I dived back down.

In my mind I mentally went through the plan Fang had shown us of the fortress Itex had built themselves. Thanks to my very own compass, I knew almost exactly where I was.

I hope.

Swimming my way through the muck, I gazed from side to side, trying to see anything that was further than my outstretched hand. Unable to do that, I did what Iggy used to do in a new place, put one hand against the wall and follow that. Luckily for me, I only had to search the southern wall, making my job a lot easier.

Off in the distance, closer than I liked, I could hear running footsteps. I moved right up against the wall, flattening myself down as much as possible. The footsteps came closer yet.

Soon, I could see their shadowy shapes in the dim lighting. It was a group of half a dozen made up by Erasers and Ghosts plus a wolf leading at the head.

"Why are you stopping?" growled a voice.

I stiffened at the sound of the voice. Ari. I knew he was alive, but still. Maybe if I cut off his head he'll stay dead.

"The scent stops here," replied the voice, distinctively female. "She must have gone deeper into the water."

There was a startled yelp plus the sound of a boot connecting with something solid and a snap. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

Sounds of whimpering made their way to my ears. My blood boiled and I wanted kill that murderous son of a (#& Well technically, I've killed him before so this time shouldn't weigh too heavily on my conscious.

"Get up you lazy slut!!" he screamed. "Get up right now and find her!!" The sound of breaking bones filled the hallway. "Get up!!"

I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. There was absolutely nothing I could do to help. In stories you always read the good guys always help that poor lone damsel in distress and comes out without a scratch. And all those thousands of people that are counting on the heroes never came into the decision making.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it doesn't work that way in real life. Sure I could rush off to save that lone wolf, but if I did that and died, then all those people are screwed over aren't they? Talk about no pressure.

In the end, the only thing that filled the tunnel was Ari's heavy breathing. Even the poor wolf had stopped making sounds from the brutal thrashing. The others in the group stood by, silently watching the show. At the end, they even congratulated Ari on a "job well done." If it wasn't the whole save the world thing, I would rush out and help her.

Oh what the hell.

"_Max,"_ warned the Voice.

"_Screw you."_

Slowly sinking below the water level so not to make ripple, I moved my over. Keeping to the shadows, I made my way closer, keeping as low as possible.

Ducking under some fallen rocks, I inched forwards. From my new vantage point, I could clearly see their faces and I was somewhat let down that Ari was gone. No matter what happens, I swear he will die. He will die for everything that he's done. All the suffering tat he's caused.

But first things first.

Coming out of the water, behind the group of five, I reached over and drew out a metal pole from the rubble. It was only when I touched the metal, did I realize that I never bothered to turn my arm back into a normal hand, it had stayed as a claw since my escape from the pervious group Ghosts.

Hefting the pole, I made sure I got a good grip. Sure, I've never used a pole before, but hey, I've seen enough movies to know how it's done.

Staying low, I saw the wolf's eye roll up and look at me. There was no hint of surprise or anything in her expression. I suppose she knew where I was after all. Giving a slight nod, I came up and swept their legs out from under them.

Never missing a beat, I came up and managed to knock two Ghosts unconscious before they got managed to react.

Jumping to their feet, the Flyboys stood up, arms up, waiting for me to make the first move. We circled each other slowly. Three on one is never good odds and when the other three or Flyboys, it's even worse.

What they didn't count on is the wolf. She managed to struggle onto her feet and made one lunge. That was all she had it in her, but it was enough.

She must have known where the weak spot was, or she was just lucky, whatever the reason, she managed to hit the weak spot, sending the middle one tumbling to the ground in a heap, shut down.

The others, turned, tuned into the new threat and forgot about me entirely. Taking the opportunity, I used the pole to send one to the ground, never to be used again and the other suddenly found a pole in its head.

I doubt even a robot could survive that. But to be on the safe side, I hit it in the weak spot just in case.

Ripping the bottom of my pants, I gagged the Ghosts and tied them up. As an extra precaution, I ripped the pole out of the Flyboy and used it as a baseball bat. With their heads being the ball of course.

"_Was that really necessary?"_ asked the Voice. I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

Once everything was taking care of, I limped over towards the poor wolf. The gash in my leg had reopened, but it was momentarily forgotten. Kneeing down, I laid a hand on her neck, finding the pulse. Who would have thought traveling with a talking wolf would come in handy.

It was there, the pulse, but it was faint. Oh, man. It was not good. I continued on, running my hand over her body and as I did so, I could feel her body tense slightly every time I passed a broken bone. Each time it happened, I could feel my anger building. When I got my hands on Ari. . .

She was hurt. She was majorly hurt. She was in so much pain, I'm surprised she's not dead from the shock alone. I suppose that's the difference between animals and humans. Animals are better developed and can shut down systems when something like this happens.

Still, I didn't know how long she would be able to survive. I would need to find a vet or at least a doctor. Otherwise she won't survive. However, there was one distinct problem. I'm sure you can guess what it is.

"_That was stupid Max, you could have gotten hurt."_

"_You can either help or get lost. Pick."_

Something akin to a mental sigh came over the link. _"Fine Max. Follow my instructions and you'll arrive at Arc's medical base."_

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	38. Black Out

**A/N Slightly shorter chapter and thanks to all reviewers**

**Disclaimer: JP owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXVII

Black Out

Max PoV

Rotating my shoulders, I eased my shoulder muscles and slowly rubbed circulation back into my arms.

Walking over to the unconscious wolf, I checked her pulse, shaking my head at the response I got. It was weak. It was so terribly weak. How much longer she had, I had no idea what-so-ever. I doubt it was longer than an hour or so though.

Positive that she was unconscious, I unfurled my wings. The joints cracking as I stretched them. Flapping my wings a couple of times, pain shot up my back. Not a lot, but it was still there. Guess I haven't gotten over the worst of my injuries after all.

Sighing, I did a quick survey of my surroundings. Locating possible exits, entrances and anything that I could use to help me in a fight.

We were in a tunnel so only two passages in or out. Despite that, I still looked up. I guess movies can come in handy after all. Rubble lay everywhere, pipes, cement blocks, couple glass shards and only one glass panel that wasn't too badly damaged. You name it and it was there.

"You do know you're an idiot."

"_Where have you been? I was getting lonely without you."_

"You shouldn't have saved her, you do know that right? She'll only slow you down. It was a stupid risk."

"_Right now, you're sounding like the Voice,"_ I retorted annoyed. I had bargained for a rest, not another fight.

Moving towards the glass panel I had seen later, I peered in and sure enough, there stood Eraser Max instead of my reflection. Correct me if I'm wrong, but vampires don't have reflections. . . right? So what if a person has a reflection, but it's a hairy wolf?

"It makes that person crazy," supplied my other half.

"_Crazy people don't know they're crazy. And I'm sure I am exactly that. Crazy. After all I did spend a while in a mental institute."_ I gave my reflection a cold look. _"Now, is there a reason for this little chit-chat or is there something you want to tell me?"_

"What can't we have a friendly discussion?" she replied innocent.

Let me see, if an Eraser came up to you and told you all he wanted was a friendly chat, would you believe him? I think not. Would you start looking around you for his friends? Almost definitely.

Turning, I had just enough time to see a Flyboy bearing down on me, before I had time to react, I found myself falling backwards with a broken nose. Reaching back, I found the glass panel, but before I could brace myself against it, the whole thing broke. A nice perfect hole. A nice perfect hole with very, very jagged edges.

Realizing what was going to happen, I managed to rotate my arm at the last moment. Gritting my teeth as the glass cut into my forearm. I didn't have the balance or time to pull my arm out and so as I fell, the glass continued to shred my arm. In the end, only my body crashing completely through the glass prevented any further damage.

Hitting the ground, I rolled until I smashed straight into a pile of rubble. I lay there for a couple of minutes as the pain was slowly blocked out. The best I could manage though, was reduce the acid running through my arm into liquid nitrogen running through my arm. Some wouldn't call that an improvement. But hey, you don't choose what bucket to put out your flaming house with either

Standing up, my right arm swayed limp by my side. My right arm was already submerged in blood and there was even a trail of it leading from the glass panel to me.

My face stung and had multiple cuts running across it. Sorta like a cat's whiskers. Reaching up, I brushed out the glass shards impaled on my arm. I would have removed the rest if there wasn't a sadistic machine bearing down on me, bent on capturing me and sending me to its master.

Side stepping nimbly to the side, his fist brushed harmlessly past. Dancing back, I took a couple of breaths, eyes darting from side to side, looking for some way to end this quickly.

So busy in my frantic search, it wasn't until I felt something connect with my jaw did I realize there was someone else. Or accurately something else.

Stumbling back, I doubled over as it struck again, this time at my stomach. I don't know how much time passed, but I doubt it was a lot for the next thing I was conscious of was me lying on the ground staring up at the ceiling.

Pain made my mind groggy and slow. Not even adrenaline help clear my head. Everything that happened from then on was pure instinct. My mind was no longer functioning, so weighted down from the pain.

I can't remember everything that happened from then on. All I was conscious of was avoiding more pain that was directed at me and dishing out enough that they would just die. Just die and leave me alone.

I stood there. Overlooking the remains of the Flyboys. There were torn, shredded to bits. All that was left were scraps of metal. I doubt a piece was larger than an inch.

Blood pounded in my ears. Ragged breathing reached my ears. Along with that breathing was whimpering. The distinct whimpering of a wolf.

My right arm still burned, more than before. The soft pitter patter of blood echoed in the empty tunnel. Looking down, I was almost afraid of what I would see and rightfully so.

It was a claw. No, not a claw, but both my arms were claws. Reaching up, a muzzle greeted my hands along with coarse fur and a tail.

I don't even remember transforming.

Searching, I found the wolf that I was protecting. She must have woken up in the fight. She did that from time to time. Woke up when I was carrying her, her eyes were always glazed over and fevered though.

This time, they were still glazed over, but something dominated over it. Something very much akin to fear. Fear. . . of me.

Blinking, I slowly eased myself out of my Eraser shape. I don't know how I did it, up to that point I wasn't even sure I could. Instinct, I believe helped me. But all I cared about was getting out of that shape. To remove that taint on me.

I don't know what happened in that last minute or so. I don't think I'll ever find out. I don't think I'd want to. Was it pain? Or maybe adrenaline. Could it have been a combination of both? Something happened and that something. . . I don't even want to know.

Walking over, I saw the wolf scramble back, growling as she did so. She tried to get up and for the effort along I praise her, but she flopped back down. At that point she started whimpering. The closer I got, the easier it was to make out words. It took a couple of minutes to compute what she was saying and once I did, I realized she was begging for her life.

That realization made me freeze. She was begging for her life. Orphius would rather die than do that. He would fight to the bitter end. Snarling and growling, doing everything he could even in a hopeless situation.

This female wolf on the other hand, was a complete wimp. I saddened me. I suppose somewhere deep down; I was hoping she would be like Orphius. He seemed so lonely without anyone like him. Except Total, but some may want to argue that point.

"It's me, Max," I whispered.

"Max?" behind those fevered eyes, there seemed to be recognition at the name. "It sounds so familiar."

"I won't hurt you," I extended my hand. "Please, come with me and I'll fix you up. I'll help you."

She looked at me, momentarily losing that slightly crazed glint. Before she could reply her eyes rolled back, crumpling into a heap on the ground.

Sighing, I walked over and was about to gather her into my arms, but only stopped when I saw my mutilated arm. It was still covered in blood and most of the wounds had clotted over, but some still bled.

Under all of the blood, I couldn't tell how bad the damage was. Sighing, I ripped the clothes off the Flyboys and used that to bandage my arm. Why Itex bothered to give robots clothes, I'm at a loss.

Gathering her up in my arms, sent a bigger jolt through my body than I imagined. I gasped, I shifted the weight, but I didn't put her down. I came this far and I'm not giving up so easily. I've swum through sewage, almost got killed and turned into an Eraser without my knowledge. I am not giving up after I've spent so much time and effort on her already. I just wish it was worth it, that's all.

"_I told you. . ." _started my Voice, but I cut him off.

"_Get lost Voice. What's done is done so help me or I swear I'll hunt you down and I'll invent some way to keep you alive while I shredded you to pieces like those Flyboys back there."_

"_Okay Max, just follow my instructions." _He sounded strangely muted. Probably due to the lost in cockiness.

Total POV

It was strangely muted during my watch. No sounds emitted from Itex. No explosions, not gunfire. Nothing. Pure silence. It was unnatural I tell you.

They would drift in, the Flock I mean. One by one they would drift in, look around the tent, say a couple of words in a muted tone to each other and then leave again.

When Gazzy and Nudge found out about Max being gone. . . well. . .

I suppose the easiest description is that they crumpled in on themselves. You know how it is; they seemed to lose all hope. I think they truly believed that they could not win without Max. They were willing to give up.

When Fang found out, he acted as he normally did. A shrug and an expressionless mask. His acting was good, I'll give him that. He fooled the others; you could hear their screaming from across the room. But he just shrugged it off and left the room, leaving everyone staring after him.

Later when I went to have 'chat' with, I stopped outside the door and I could smell the sadness swamping out of the room. It flooded out of the room like a tidal wave. I suppose being able to smell emotions is a good thing, but what I smelt coming from that room. . .

It faded in comparison to real emotions.

When he came out in the middle of the night, he gathered everyone around and gave them all a stern talking to. The Flock, every single last one of them felt Fang was cold blooded, indifferent to the fact that Max is possibly dead.

But they were so angry at him, that they missed what was truly being said. His eyes, the way he stood, even his appearance announced how much he had suffered. I doubt he got any sleep in those hours he was here.

I think Iggy and Orphius also knew. I think they could tell something was wrong. Everyone has their own way dealing with pain; Fang was always different from everyone else. It stands to reason his method with dealing with pain would also be different.

At the end of the meeting, Orphius went back to Itex to oversee everything, while everyone stayed back and rested at the Medical Center. Fang was best suited to the job, but Iggy argued and in the end, Fang stayed. I'm glad someone else beside me noticed Fang's condition. It's not as if he liked me or anything.

Right now, all I have is one wish. Please, bring Max back to us.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	39. So Tired

**_A/N Olyandra here, XIII's currently out cold. Having a week of exams does do that to somebody after all, but still. Because he's out, I decided to type this chapter for him. He thinks he's better than me when it comes to writing. Really the nerve of some people. _**

**Disclaimer: JP owns them all. **

**Claimer: Orphius is mine. **

Chapter XXXVIII

So Tired.

Max PoV

I looked up; it seemed like the tunnel the Voice described. It sloped down and at the bottom was a pool of water rising to about my chest. Not only that, but it even had those fireflies the Voice mentioned in passing.

The ceiling was low, a lot lower than the Voice said it was. I had to duck right down in order for me to walk without fear of giving myself a concussion. I would barely have enough room to stick my head out in order to breathe. This is not going to be fun.

Shifting the weight in my arms, a jolt of pain shot up, making me blink and shake my head. Trying to remove the message. I was hoping it would stop hurting so much after a couple of minutes, but no such luck, it still hurt.

When someone invents a word to describe how much pain I'm going through, please inform me.

Sighing, I eased forwards. Stopping just before the waters edge. Well, it's not really water, sewage would be closer. It didn't matter what it was as long it wasn't contaminated with rain water. If it was, I'm screwed. Twice, maybe three times over. Did I mention I would be royally screwed? There is that slight difference.

Gingerly I dipped a finger into the water, waiting for that searing acidic pain. When none came, I submerged my whole hand and waited some more. Still no pain.

Satisfied with my experiment, I eased the weight of the wolf so that it lay completely on my left arm and slow made my way into the murky waters. All the while, keeping my right arm well out of the waters.

I'm not some idiot that knows nothing about wounds okay? I've dealt with them for as long as I can remember. And the most important rule is to not get the wound infected. I'm sure there's probably so much & in it thanks to the glass panel I smashed through, but adding sewage to that is definitely not smart.

Have you ever tried wading through sewage, balancing a wolf in one arm, keeping the other out of the water and trying not to gag at the same time? If you haven't, you should try it sometime; it's all part of The Maximum Ride Tour.

Tired of everyday life? Want to have some action in your life? Strap yourself in for the thrill ride you'll want to take again and again! From Death Valley, California, to the bowels of the New York City subway system, you're about to take off on a heart-stopping adventure that will blow you away. . .

It started with The Angel Experiment Tour and since then it has grown. In both size and quality. The Angel Experiment was just a test drive. Now, brace yourself for the Maximum Ride.

School's Out Forever and with all that free time, it's time to participate in the tour of a century. There's one last chance. . . The time has arrived. . . Discover their original purpose. . .

_"Re-evolution has entered its final phase," _whispered the Voice.

_"What?" _I demanded, my thoughts vanishing into thin air.

_"Re-evolution. Can't you feel it?" _he said irritated.

_"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not bloody psychic."_

_"Oh, right. You don't have that power."_

_"What?"_

_"Never mind."_

_"Voice. . . Voice!! Answer me damn it!!"_

Typically I got nothing in response. I hate my Voice. Sometimes I wish I could give it a sound spanking.

Re-evolution. . . psychic. . . What could these words means. What is Re-evolution and who is the physic. Could it be Angel? She can read minds after all.

Shaking my head, I reached the end of the tunnel. Looking straight up, I saw, to my satisfaction a way up. So far everything my Voice told me has been right. I only hope he got the time it would take right as well. Otherwise. . . this would have all been a waste of time.

Reaching out, I grasped the ledge with my right arm and pulled myself slowly out of the water. There was little pain to begin with, but after a couple of seconds, my arm was trembling from the exertion. It was then my mental damn broke.

All of the pain I had been blocking out flooded out. Drowning me. Dropping back into the water, I had my shaky way back to the shore. Panting heavily, my clothes drenched from sweat. The gashes in my arm reopened, spilling blood onto the ground.

How blood does a person have again? Three pints or something like that? I can never remember. Truth be told, I don't think I want to know at this point.

Good news would be nice though. Like people will arrive at any moment and help me. Or maybe Itex will just blow up for no apparent reason and that'll be the end of all crazy sadistic evil scientists. I'd settle for the Voice or Eraser Max going away though.

**"Max?"** I jumped. What the hell? **"Max can you her me?"**

_"Angel?" _I suppose I should be happy, but I was kinda hoping for Itex to blow up.

**"Bloody hell Max, where have you been? I've been trying to contact you for a long time. Everyone's been half dead since we thought you were dead."**

****

_"Dead? I though you would have realized how hard it is to kill me by now," _I joked. _"What time is it now?"_

**"Time? It's about ** **midnight****. Why?"**

_"No particular reason, it's just everything looks the same down here."_

**"Do you know how to get to us?"**

_"Sure. . ."_

**"But?"**

_"I won't be able to do it in my current state."_

**"Current state? What did you do to yourself? Are you alright? How bad is it? Can you walk? Don't tell me you're. . ."**

_"Calm down Angel, it's just a scratch, nothing more."_

**"Right," **she replied in a disbelieving tone.

_"Would it be alright if you could talk to my Voice?"_

**"Why?"**

_"I don't actually know where I am and he can give better directions than I can."_

The fact that the world was spinning around me and the fact that nothing seemed to be in color, did not affect my decision what-so-ever. I mean why would me being about to faint have any affect on the decisions I make?

**"Max, you're mind's starting to slip away."**

_"I'm sleepy that's all."_ Don't look at me like that, I am tired. Try hiding from a bunch of machines for a couple hours straight and see how well you do.

**"Sleep?"** She didn't sound convinced. Oh well, not my problem.

_"Just talk to my Voice and get down here. I don't have all day you know."_

**"Fine," **she muttered.

_"I've also got someone injured with me and I don't think she'll last much longer."_

**"Anything else mother?"**

_"Good night," _I said, closing my eyes slumping to the ground.

In some back corner of my mind I could hear my Voice and Angel talking. About what, I don't know. They were discussing something, but all I really wanted was to go to sleep. That's all. Sleep would be perfect about now.

"MAX!!"

I blinked a couple of times, saw a light then closed my eyes again. I wish they would be silent. All I want is rest. I'm so tired. Just so tired.

"MAX!!! WAKE UP!!"

Something about that voice was so familiar though. I tossed and turned a bit. Why can't these people just leave me along? All I want is some peace and comfort that's all. Is it so much to ask for?

"MAX!! WAKE UP!!" There was silence.

"You can't let her fall asleep, if that happens. . ." supplied another voice.

"Max, please. Don't leave me. . . Not again. . . . I won't let you. . . Max. . ."

"Let me sleep," I muttered. Did I even say the words? I can't be sure.

"Max, don't go to sleep. Please Max."

Why was the person crying? Who was it? I didn't care. I was exhausted.

"Max." The shaking became more violent. This time it was nudge and not an earthquake. "Please."

I reached up and brushed the arm away.

As my arm dropped down weakly, a weight suddenly dropped down on to my body. Before I had time to react, I felt a pair of lips pressed against mine. They tasted so sweet. Was this how the fruit Adam and Eve ate tasted?

I doubt it. This is so much sweeter.

Unconsciously, I wrapped my left arm around his neck. Yet when I lifted my right arm, I couldn't. I couldn't move it, I couldn't feel it even. It was completely numb.

He must have seen my reaction. "Don't worry Max, we've just numbed it. It was too badly damaged and we didn't want you using it."

"Can I go to sleep now?" I said pleading.

"Just stay with us a bit longer Max. You're almost past the danger zone."

"Danger zone? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind Max, I'll tell you later."

I opened my eyes, but only hazy figures greeted my sight. "But I'm so. . ." The rest of my words, slurred off.

"Fang, keep her awake!!" screamed a voice.

"Max? Max? You with me? Come on Max. Just a bit longer that's all. A couple more se. . ."

**_A/N Olyandra here. There's something XIII's been wanting to say for a long time now, but he keeps on forgetting so I'll do it now. Does anyone know any good fic's in Iggy's PoV? Apparently it's for research or something like that. _**

**_Also, reread the blurbs of the books, anything familiar about them? _**

**_Yet another note, please send in reviews and prove that I can write better than XIII. _**


	40. Talks

**A/N I can't believe Olyandra went behind my back and typed up the last chapter. That is just plain low.**

_**Thanks**_** for all reviewers. Note the sarcasm in that sentence. Now Olyandra wants to have more chapters written by her or at least a mention somewhere. She even wrote up a section in my profile and changed the password to my account so that I can't change it. Damn her. She had to upload this chapter behind my back.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXIX

Talks

Max PoV

I wish I could say that I woke up to Fang's scent. His arms wrapped around me, breathing down my neck. His lips, a half formed confession, my name being whispered with all that love he showed me on our first night.

I wish. . .

If Fang wasn't there, it would be alright as well. Maybe Gazzy would be there, ready to call Fang if I woke up. Angel and Nudge might be there as well, but I don't know how I would react. A positive reaction might be in doubt. Well, it depends if Nudge was talking or not.

Isn't funny how the things you wish for never happens? How it's always the opposite. Must be Fate's cruel joke.

I can say that Fang was there when I woke up. I can also say that Gazzy and Angel and Nudge were present. I can even go as far as to say that Nudge wasn't talking. . . that much.

But a peaceful waking? A waking with loving people? A waking that most people get at a hospital? I think not.

The waking I got was not one of silence. It wasn't one of blissful pain free aches. It was anything, but that.

Pain. That's what woke me up. And a lot of it as well. Ever wished you could just die instead of suffering some more? Ever though death would be release? I know I have. All the time. Mainly from the Voice, but this was different. With the Voice it's always been mental pain, but this was physical pain. It was pain like no other.

My arm was on fire. My arm was awash in acid. I'm sure it's meant to be figuratively, but to me, it felt as if it was actually happening. That my arm was truly in acid and that it was truly on fire.

I saw a face hovering above mine. It was Fang's. . . I think. Don't look at me like that; let's see how well you focus when you're in pain.

He was talking. At least I think he was. His mouth was moving and I take it that he was talking. Don't ask me what he said for I have no idea. The only then I could understand was the pain. The immense pain that was frying my nerves.

I think I was screaming, or yelling, or doing something. Why else would Fang make the universal sign of, "Just shut the hell up!!" But I maybe wrong.

It was then that doctor next to me decided to sedate me. He or she placed an inhaler over my mouth and I found myself slowly drifting off. Some part of me must have still been functioning for I was glad that they decided to use an inhaler and not a needle. Who knows how badly I would have reacted.

Strangely, as I drifted to sleep, as the pain diminished, as everything started to blur, I wondered how the wolf brought along was doing. I was wondering if she was alive or not. I wondered. . .

I woke once again. This time however, it was as I had wished it before. It wasn't identical, but it was as close as I was going to get under these conditions.

That dull ache was still there. But it was just a slow pulse; no longer did it torture me. It was a nice change for once. A change I welcomed.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I opened my eyes. I was tentative at first, afraid of what I might see. What I saw was Fang, slumped in a chair, his hand held in mine. And here I thought scenes like these only happen in movies.

At first I was content to just stare at him, to allow myself to drink him in. It's been a long time since I last saw him. I wish it could always be like. Peace and quiet, that all I ever wanted. That's all the Flock ever wanted. Peace and quiet.

"Max?" He wiped the sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I smiled up at him. "How long was I gone?"

"A day or so, that was all. You gave everyone a fright when you woke up this afternoon and started screaming."

"I'm glad a needle wasn't used."

"I especially told them you were afraid of needles."

"Thanks."

We sat in silence for a while. Just resting. Just savoring our time together.

"Max?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can you let go of my hand?"

"Sure."

We sat in silence for a while longer. In the end Fang broke the silence yet again.

"Ummm. . ."

"What?"

"You still haven't let go of my arm."

"What are you talking about!!" I demanded. "I did let go."

"No you didn't." I followed his gaze and sure enough I was still holding his hand.

"What?" I tried to let go. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing. I looked up at Fang.

I guess some of my worry must have shown. He immediately wrapped me up in his arms "It's okay Max. Everything is going to be absolutely fine."

"My arm. . ." Nothing more was necessary, Fang understood.

"I already told you." He pulled me closer. "There is nothing to worry about. It might heal." He smiled down at me. "We do have fast healing."

He was trying to comfort me. He wanted me to believe him. I wanted to believe him. I had to know the answer straight off. I had to know whether I would be able to use my arm ever again.

"_Voice?"_ I silently called out.

Typical, I got no reply. I guess even the Voice didn't want to talk to me about it anymore. It was probably one of those $ tests he always goes on about.

"Well?" asked Fang.

"No answer," I replied without thinking. "Wait, how did you know I was talking to the Voice."

"You always get this blank expression on your face."

I leaned into him, sighing. Absently reached up with my right hand to ruffle his hair. It was only when my hand didn't move did I remember that it was no longer functioning. Hiding my chagrin, I used my left hand instead.

"This is so awkward," I told him.

"You'll get used to it," he answered. "Would you mind if I called in the rest of the Flock in."

"Can't we have a bit more time ourselves?" I said.

"I'd rather get then in here now. The jammer's about to disappear completely and that's when we'll attack." He had his commander voice on again.

"Why can't we attack while they're still in the dark?"

"We could only get away with that the first time because we surprised them. We have to be able to communicate, if we can't we're dead. Angel can't process that many thoughts at once love."

"Love?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Slip of the tongue," he amended.

"No, it's fine." I tenderly touched his cheek. "We're married now remember?"

"No, we're engaged."

"Same thing," I replied with a shrug.

At that instance, the door burst open and a very excited Nudge threw herself into my lap. I know she maybe a bit too old for that, but. . .

The rest of them filed in, each one coming over, hugging me with tears in their eyes. I never thought everyone would miss me so much.

As Angel hugged me, she whispered so only I could hear. "Fang missed you Max. He couldn't function. Please, don't leave again; I don't know if Fang can take it."

"I'll be fine," I whispered back.

It would have been a picture perfect moment. Fang was sitting there, still holding my hand. My Flock was back and somewhere in my long absence, I had forgiven Angel, maybe not completely, but I didn't hate her as much as I used to at least. The problem was, all of my Flock was there. Every single last on. Including Iggy.

I've got this much to say. I wish Iggy would just $& $)($!& #($# &" :?

He betrayed the Flock and joined Itex. Enough said. In my opinion someone should invent some way to keep a person alive while you're eating their heart.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Can't I come in and say hi anymore?" Iggy feinted shock. "That's sad Max. I'm hurt, excuse me while I go and cry in the corner."

Pulling my left hand under the cloth, I took a couple deep breaths, calming myself. As I did so, my hand slowly returned back to normal and not paws. Damn it!! What the hell is bloody going on?

"Max?" whispered Fang

"It's alright," I whispered back.

I cleared my throat. "Why are you here?" I demanded once again.

"Because I work here." Defiant to the end I see.

"I thought you worked at Itex."

"Bad pay, plus I couldn't blow anything up. I had go through all of these rules and stuff. Talk about taking the fun out of building bombs."

Fang must have gotten bored with our verbal sparring because at that point, he stepped in, "Iggy was my spy."

There were no gasps of surprise. No, "Oh my god!!" type reaction. Well, except from me that is. I was staring at Fang as if he was crazy. The others just simply shrugged it off.

"You all knew?" I asked everyone.

"It was simple to figure out," replied Nudge. "It was, like, so obvious."

"Iggy told me before he left," supplied Gazzy. His announcement was met with a glare from Iggy. Iggy's aim was fairly on target as well.

"I pried it from Fang's mind," added Angel.

"I've worked with Iggy before on missions," commented Orphius. "He's very good with explosives and his hearing is brilliant as well. Good person to have in a fight."

I glanced down at Total. "Hey don't look at me like that; I never knew it was Iggy either."

"Can you guys please wait outside?" I asked them politely.

They glanced around, after a couple of seconds the nodded and got up.

"Except you," I said grabbing hold of Fang.

There were a few chuckles from those exciting, but I silence them all with a deathly glare.

I waited until they were all gone before turning back to face Fang. "We've got some talking to do."

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	41. Lap Dog

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXX

Lap Dog

Total PoV

"What's going on?" whispered Nudge. Well, whispering as much as she was capable of anyway.

"If you shut up, I might just be able to hear," remarked Iggy rolling his eyes skyward.

Leaning closer, he placed his ear right up against the door. He closed is eyes as if to concentrate. Raising a hand, he gestured for Gazzy to come closer. Tilting his head, he started whispering in Gazzy's ear.

Sighing, I slumped down on to the ground, taking in the scenery around me. We were in a tent. A very large tent in fact. It was like the ones you see in the movies. You know, those large tents that are about the size of a house? Yeah, we were in something like that.

For a bunch of people who spent their childhood with sadistic evil scientists, they weren't jumpy at all. Me? The anti-septic smell was enough to bring back bad memories.

"What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Max.

I whirled around. Max? Here? What!?! She was with Fang, she was arguing with Fang. Where did her voice come from?

"Everything is fine Max. Iggy is with us," said Fang, calmly.

Fang? Okay, this was getting seriously strange.

It was only when I saw Orphius' smirk that I realized what was happening. Gazzy. That's why Iggy called Gazzy over to him. I must admit, this is very interesting. Clever as well.

"Excuse me? Have you forgotten what happened? Did you forget Iggy betraying us? Do you have amnesia?"

"Max, calm down and listen to me," soothed Max.

"Calm down? Calm DOWN!?!" Talk about getting hysterical. "You've got a traitor in our midst and you're telling me to CALM DOWN!!"

"Iggy," complained Angel. "That wasn't what Max said."

"I censored it. Now hush, I need to listen," said Iggy.

"You stay out of this or I swear I'll rip you to shreds!!" screamed Max. That time it was Max actually screaming and not Gazzy.

There was a hasty exchange of glances as we moved away from the door as one. None of us wanted to be caught red handed. After a couple of seconds when nothing happened, we moved back. Cautious, being very cautious.

"It was just the Voice," reported Angel.

We nodded in understanding as Iggy placed his ear next to the door.

"You okay?" soothed Fang.

"Just peachy." Man, how did Gazzy capture her sarcasm so well? It was scary.

"What did he say?"

"You're not getting out of answering my question that easily. Why. Is. Iggy. Here."

"Must you know?" Was there a hint of despair in Fang's voice?

"The quicker you answer, the less you'll have to suffer."

"Fine. If you must know, I was the one that told Iggy to join Itex."

We all traded glances except Angel and Iggy. It was a nice change to no longer be the only one who didn't know anything. It looks like the others didn't know either. Gazzy opened his mouth to say something, but Iggy touched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You did what?" Strangely, she was bearing the news rather well. "Why?"

"The Voice constantly went on about saving the world and he only talked to you, so I assumed you were the one that was meant to save the world. I knew we would have to have intel on when Itex would initiate their plan so I had to Iggy go to them."

"Why?" Even though it was conveyed through Iggy and Gazzy, that single word spoke volumes.

"I couldn't go; I had to plan for the upcoming takeover and how to counter it. You were. . . indisposed. . ."

"Nice save," I muttered under my breath, earning me glares from the people around me. "Sorry."

". . . I couldn't ask the others, they were far too young. The only person possible was Iggy. Plus, he was the only they were likely to believe."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Iggy's blind and according to them, he's a liability cause he's blind. If he went to them with some sob story about us leaving him or him wanting to get his sight back or whatever, they would believe him. If we said that, you really think they would believe us?"

"I suppose. . ."

"Iggy went there due to my order. Not because he betrayed you and the rest of the Flock."

"How do you know he hasn't switched sides? How do you know, they didn't promise him something in return? After all, if their plan works, what ever it is, he might become the ruler of some country some where."

"You really think I would trust him 100? I had someone keep track of him during all times. I know everything he did in those months when he was at Itex."

"I was right," remarked Iggy under his breath.

"About what?" I answered without really thinking about it.

"I knew Fang had someone looking in on me. He's careful. I'd bet he had multiple people spying on me just so that he could cross check every report. He probably even had spies spying on the people spying on me."

"Iggy," whined Nudge.

"Okay, okay." Placing his ear next to the door, he continued whispering to Gazzy.

". . . can be trusted?" asked Max.

"I'm fairly sure."

"What about the Erasers that are with him?"

"How did you know about that?" was the sharp reply from Fang.

"I'm guessing Iggy was the one who took out the last two towers. Despite his. . . expertise. . . in bombs, I doubt he could have done it himself. The logic step would be Erasers or Ghosts or whatever helped him out."

I'm guessing Fang nodded his head or something. I doubt Iggy could hear what the motion was.

"So can the Erasers be trusted?" repeated Max.

"I believe so."

"Okay, that's fine with me then."

There was silence.

"What?" asked Max.

"Aren't you going to scream and argue about how all Erasers are evil or whatever? I mean, that's what you did at Iggy."

"Evil lies in the intent. I doubt all Erasers are evil. All they're doing is following orders. Hell, if I worked at a place like Itex, I would follow orders as well. The punishment for not doing so is probably worse than death."

"Sometimes you surprise me."

"Philosophical debates," she answered cryptically. "I had philosophical debates with the Voice when I was in the Mental Institute. It helped pass time."

"You really do surprise Max. Sometimes you just amaze me."

"Now that I'm finished yelling at you. Let me show you something. . ."

Iggy stopped there and then. A blush on his face.

"What's going on?" asked Nudge.

"What are they saying?" demanded Angel.

Gazzy looked pointedly at Iggy, shrugging all the while.

"I don't think you should know. It's. . . ah. . . rated R18?" he supplied.

"You mean they're doing it?" Nudge sounded shocked.

Iggy nodded.

"On a hospital bed?" added Angel.

Another nod.

"That's kinda, disgusting," I finished. "I mean injured people will have to be placed on that bed later."

"It's not that bad," protested Iggy.

Suddenly as if realizing what he had said, his face became a deeper shade of red. And here I thought that would have been impossible.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Orphius moving away. A murderous look on his face.

Glancing back at the Flock, I smile touched my lips as I saw them mock Iggy mercilessly. It almost seemed like the 'good old days' as old people put it. . . No offense to old people. Or if you want to be politically correct, no offense to the elderly.

Picking up the pace, I caught up to Orphius and walked side by side. Neither of s spoke. He didn't even bother to acknowledge me in anyway. How rude.

"What?" he finally demanded in a gruff voice.

"What's going on between you and Iggy." I decided to be blunt. There was no point dancing about.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I mean. There is something going on between you and Iggy. You two get along fairly well, but sometimes it seems as if you want to kill him. Especially when Ella is mentioned."

My eyes widened as I realized the answer to my own question. "You like Ella don't you?"

Orphius simply laughed at my statement. "What the hell gave you that idea?"

"Well, let me see. You act differently around her, almost like a lap dog. You and Iggy act fine around each other, but whenever Ella enters the conversation or is implied in anyway, you get angry." I looked up at him. "I can go on if you wish."

Orphius glanced around, as if looking for something. We waited there as people drifted in and out until no one was present.

Suddenly, he leaped, pinning me to the ground. His muzzle barely inches from mine. "You tell anyone," he growled. "Anyone at all and I will rip out your throat." His head inched closer so that it was right next to my ear. "You got that?"

"I won't tell you if you answer a question. A single question."

"How about I just kill you now so that you can't tell anyone and don't have to answer any questions either?"

"Okay. Okay. Fine I won't tell anyone."

"Good."

"Can't you at least listen to my question first?" I continued.

"Do you really want to die that badly because if you continue on in this way, I'll be glad to help kill you."

"Orphiuchus. I did not just hear you say those words," reprimanded Ella.

"Sorry," he replied. It sounded more like a whimper.

"Get off Total this instant." She sounded so much like Max in that single moment, it surprised me. "Now follow me."

"Sorry, but I can't." Orphius said it so quietly that I wasn't too sure that I heard it.

"And why is that?" she demanded.

"I've got to go back to Itex. Make sure they aren't going to try anything to night. It's my turn to go on watch," he sounded almost sad.

"You know how much I hate it when you're in danger." I felt as if I was intruding on something private.

"I know Ella, but this can't be helped." He took a deep breath and looked out the window. "Can you send me some scientists as well? There's something I need to discuss something with them."

"Can't," replied Ella. "I've got to check on Max."

They both turned to face me. "You go find some scientists. High ranking ones. Send them to me at Itex. I'll be waiting."

"What am I? A messenger boy?" They gave me identical looks. "Fine I'll do it. I'll do it."

I walked away. After a couple of feet, I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "You coming?" I asked Ella.

"Why?"

"I'm going to grad Iggy or Gazzy. The last time I saw them, they were in front of Max's room."

"Okay." She moved towards me. "Take care of yourself Orphius."

"You too," he called back.

As I walked side by side next to Ella, I glanced back once and saw Orphius still standing in the same place. It didn't seem as if he had moved at all. There was no doubt in my mind; Orphius was in love with Ella. How Ella felt about the whole thing, I had no idea. No idea whatsoever.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	42. Censored

**A/N Thanks to all reviews. But especially to NellaBella who spoke what she thought and I agreed with everything. Due to this, I have completely rewritten this chapter leaving out Orphius' story for a later chapter when it'll be better refined and less Suesish. In other words, eraser the last chapter from your mind.**

**If these chapters seem like fillers, it's because I want to show that even during war, there are times of respite and calm. Even for a short while.**

**Once again, comment on the grammar and spelling for Olyandra's now editing and I want to make sure of her skill before I pay her.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXXI

(Chapter Title has been Censored)

Max PoV

I slowly pushed open the door ad stepped into the room me and Fang shared. Yes, you read it correctly; me and Fang lived in one single room that has one single bed and one single shower. We're engaged now. Get over it.

"Fang?" I called out sweetly.

"Yeah?" He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"What happened to that wolf I saved?"

"I was wondering when you would ask that question." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Max, but she died. Too much blood was lost and she died."

Swearing under my breath, I took off my clothes and threw them on to the ground, not bothering to place them neatly away. Maneuvering through the maze of chairs and papers scattered all over the ground, I grabbed a towel from off the bed, dragging it after me as I entered the shower. Closing the door, but not locking it, I stepped into the shower and turned the water on.

When nothing happened, I realized that I was trying to use my right arm again. It was so awkward not able to use my right hand.

Raking my hand through my hair, I slowly untangled it. Reaching out blindly, I grasped the soap and started washing myself. Once I was done with everything, I stepped out. All in all, it took less than five minutes. There was limited supply of water here at Arc and so it was common to take a shower once a week. Personally, to me, it felt like a luxury. When I was on the run with the Flock, we never got the chance to get a decent shower.

Remembering I could no longer use my right hand this time, I reached out for the towel, only to find it gone. Opening my eyes, I saw that they were no longer there. Someone had taken the towel.

That's when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, pulling me into an embrace. Sighing, I leaned back and looked up into the Fang's eyes. He smiled down at me, leaning forwards, his lips brushed against my neck, making me shiver in delight.

His lips traveled along, ever so slowly. Teasing me. Unable to take it any longer, I reached up, but he evaded my grasp easily. Still embracing me from behind, his lips continued from where they left off, ending when they touched my lips.

His scent filled my nose, his skin burned from desire, his lips tasted sweeter than wine. Everything about him at that moment was just so. . . heavenly. As if nothing could go wrong even if Fate decided to intervene

To my surprise, he unfurled his wings and enclosed us within them. Blocking out the light and trapping the heat that radiated from my body. Heat that was from more than just natural heat or heat from my shower. Heat that could only be contributed to one thing.

Finally, we broke apart. Drawing ragged breaths into our burning lungs. Leaning against his chest, I reached out, absently preening his wings. Pulling my finger through his feathers in slow deliberate movements. Straightening them out. Preening wasn't about looks, it was about flight. Clean straight feathers fly better than dirty ones.

I could feel the catch in his breathing as I continued my treatment. His breathing increased and became more rapid. Even though my head was lying on his shoulders, I could still hear his heart beat going at an insanely fast speed.

Placing his mouth next to my ear, he whispered huskily, "You have no idea how amazing that feels. . ."

"I think I do. . ." I replied in a similar tone, trailing off suggestively.

Glancing down at me, he smiled, melting me in his grasp. "I guess then a comparison is in order?"

Not bothering for answer, his lips found mine, drowning me. Pushing away, I turned to face a Fang with a very hurt look on his face. Stepping forwards, I threw myself into his arms once again.

"This is much better," I remarked as his lips traveled down my neck.

There was a polite knock on the door. But, we were both far to preoccupied for it to register it.

Once again there was that polite knock at the door and once again neither of us paid attention to it. Why would we, right now, we was having so much fun.

A third knock came and me calling it a knock is like saying the world being destroyed is a minor inconvenience.

"You think we should answer it?" Fang asked. I looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. "I suppose not."

"Open up you two," called Iggy. "If you don't I'll pick the lock on this door."

"Do that if you've got a death wish!!" I shot back.

"You might be able to learn something!!" replied Fang at the same time.

"Well, you've got one minute before I blow this door down," he replied unruffled.

We shared a glance, weighing the options. On one hand if Iggy blew down the door, we got an excuse to kill him. On the other hand, it would be plain embarrassing and he might have something important to tell us. Trust me, when Iggy says he's going to do something, he is going to do it.

Sighing, Fang retracted his wings so that they no longer cover us got up. Looking around, he picked up his underwear from off the chair, his shorts from the desk and the rest of his clothing from off the ground.

Like the gentleman that Fang was, he also collected up my clothing and threw to me while I lay on the bed, panting from the exercise. Reaching reluctantly for my clothes I dressed and got up.

Strolling over to where Fang waited, we pushed open the door facing both Ella and Iggy and a very annoyed Orphius.

"What's going on?" Fang asked. "I was busy."

"We know," growled Orphius. "Next time please try to keep it down. I couldn't think with all of that ruckus going on in there. I couldn't even sleep."

"So what's going on?" Fang repeated.

"The jammer's finally been cleared away," answered Iggy.

We nodded our heads. Fang had explained this part to us before hand, but not in great detail. All he had said was, ' "Once the jammers been cleared away, we'll go into Phase Two." ' and that was it. Nothing else.

"Everyone's already in the meeting room," added Ella. "Clean up first and we'll meet you there."

Ella and Iggy strolled away, hand in hand. Leaving us with Orphius.

He sniffed disapprovingly. "You two might want to take a shower as well. You two smell terrible." With that, he bolted off.

"A shower." I glanced over at Fang, a smile tugging at my lips. "You think it would be faster if we took a shower at the same time? After all, they sounded as if it was very important and that we have to get there in a timely manner."

He planted a kiss on my cheek. "I'm so glad I'm engaged to you and not someone else. Who else could come up with the idea that taking a shower at the same time would be faster than taking it separately."

Grasping his shirt in my left hand, I dragged him after me. "We better get started then, wouldn't want to keep them waiting too long now would we?"

Total PoV

"What's taking them so long?" demanded Angel.

Shrugging, I jumped on to the cushioned chairs that were stationed around the round table, I sat down. Looking around, I couldn't help but notice the paintings that hung on the wall that showed how America looked before the war with Itex, not could I tear my gaze from a picture of the Flock before the split. How that picture came to be here, I have no idea.

"How am I supposed to know?" commented Orphius. "I got them like you so _politely_ asked me to."

"Orphius stop snapping at people. It was a request," remarked Ella. She glanced around the room. "They really should be here by now."

Iggy merely shook his head, laughing all the while.

"What's so funny?" demanded Ella. The others gathered around, waiting eagerly for the answer.

"Orphius told them to get a shower first." He doubled over laughing. "They might have smelled, but I didn't comment because I knew this would happen."

I looked over at him and then at the others. "Did any of you get what Iggy's trying to tell us?"

Orphius scowled. "There's only one shower isn't there?"

Comprehension dawned on Ella's face. She hurriedly glanced around seeing if anyone had caught on it. Yet, everyone was as stumped as I was, which I was infinitely grateful for.

"Oh." Was all Angel said as she turned a bright shade of pink. "Oh"

"What!?! What is it!?! What are they doing!?!" That obviously came from Nudge.

From then on, I tuned out Nudge as she continued to badger Angel for the answer. Continuous and incessantly, never relenting in her onslaught.

"How much longer will they be?" pondered Ella out loud. "It's been a very long time." At this she shot a look at Iggy. I couldn't quite place it, but I knew there was some meaning behind the look.

Standing up, Iggy walked over towards Ella and whispered something in her ear. Smiling, he held out a hand and helped her out of her chair. Placing a hand around her waist, Iggy lead her out of the room. Neither bothering to tell us where they had gone or when they would be back.

"Where are they going?" I asked Gazzy.

"Who knows?" he shrugged. "If no one's going to be here at the meeting, I'm going off to the science lab to make some more bombs. Iggy gave me some new schematics that should improve the ones we're currently working on." With that, he strolled out of the room.

Jumping off the chair, I padded over to the corner where Orphius was lying. "Up for another game of chess?"

Orphius opened on sleepy eye. Stretching, he stood up and glanced around the room. Stretching once again, I hear bones crack as he shook his fur out. "Might as well. Fang and Max are going to take a while."

As we exited the room from the southern door, Nudge's consistent yapping filtered down to us, echoing off the walls. I wonder how much fun Angel was having at this instant.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	43. Phase Two: Turrets and Politics

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Also a slightly longer chapter this time. A big special thanks to my Beta Nellabella41. Give her a round of applause people, she deserves it.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns all.**

**Claimer: Orphius and other characters are mine though.**

Chapter XXXXII

Phase Two: Turrets and Politics.

Max PoV

I stood on the tower, gazing out at the second wall. Their second line of defense. Truthfully, it was a good defense. From what Iggy and Fang had told us, this wall was going to be hard to breach.

The wall was twice as thick and twice as high as the first wall. There were turrets stationed at even intervals all throughout the base of the wall. To make matters worse, there were even anti-air missiles as well. They were even smart enough to program the turrets has less that 1800 rotation so that they couldn't accidentally rotate so much that they shoot themselves.

Guess who had to take out the turrets? Me, and boy am I excited. _If _you wanted to be technical, it would be Nudge who would disable the turrets and I had to keep her alive till then. So in other words, if I failed, Nudge would fail, and the Arc would fail. Talk about no pressure.

"You ready?" I asked Nudge.

"Yeah."

I glanced at her sharply. She hasn't spoken more than one word since she had been told of our mission. I was scared. Nudge hadn't changed that much over the four years I was away, but in one day, she had changed. She's acting more like Fang than herself.

"Hold on then." This was no time to be thinking on stuff like that. Maybe later, but not right now. Now we had a mission to do.

"_You sure this will work?" _I turned my conscious inside.

"_Trust me Max. This will work," _replied the Voice.

"_It better work. If this doesn't, then we're al screwed."_

"_Yes Max, I know. Why can't you just trust me?"_

"_Maybe because you don't trust me."_

Not bothering to wait for a response, I grabbed Nudge, pulled her close and unfurled my wings.

The reaction from the Arc members was typical. First shock, then gasps, finally a couple of them actually cocked their guns in my direction. I knew Fang made a mistake in not telling them we were Avian-Americans. I predict a lot of debate after this incident.

It didn't bother me that guns were pointed at me and Nudge. It's not as if they could actually hit me with the bullets. Their reaction rate is far too slow.

Turning around, I saluted and smiled at their bemused faces. Jumping off the wall, the turrets ahead erupted into life as did some of the guns behind me. By the time the bullets reached where I was, I was long gone. Where was I? On the other side of no mans land that's where. I was tucked comfortably behind one of the turrets. Those idiots at Itex hadn't even realized that yet. But how long could that last?

Nudge immediately plugged the laptop into the turret thanks to the USB Port they so considerably integrated into turret that so luckily linked in the Itex's database. Maybe not the main database, but it was enough to disable most of the defense systems Itex had in place.

There's a saying Orphius uses. In this situation, I completely agree. A stupid enemy is a gift from god.

Reaching up, I placed a hand on the earpiece I had and activated my mic. "We're in position." I glanced down and saw Nudge bent over Fang's laptop as she hacked into their system. "Nudge has already started. A diversion would be nice about now."

I looked up, I had no idea how long it would take them to find me, I didn't want to find out. I didn't plan on finding out. "Sometime now would be nice."

"A couple more seconds Max. That's all I need. I couple more seconds."

"A couple more seconds and we could be found!!"

There was a sudden deafening boom. Wherever the bomb was set off, I could feel it even here. A couple of Arc members on the first wall even staggered a bit. Me? I braced myself with the wall.

Nudge didn't seem to notice. Her eyes glued to the screen of the laptop. Fingers flying at an unnatural speed. She didn't even sway so much as an inch when the shockwave hit.

"That was awesome!! I can't believe it!! Is it possible to give an eleven?" cried Gazzy from over the radio.

"Eleven!?! That was a thirteen!!" replied Iggy, just as excited.

"You two, stop acting like girls who've seen some hot guy and get on with the distraction." I glanced down at Nudge. "I have no idea who long Nudge here will take. Personally, I'd prefer if I was out of here before we're found out by Itex. We're sitting ducks here."

So Nudge and I sat there. She was busy hacking in to the Itex system so that she could disable the turrets and who knows what else, while I was her body guard. It was a tense situation and more than once I was ready to pull Nudge off the lap top and to safety.

The shouting and running from up above didn't help my nerves either. Any second people could look down, see us and start firing. How is that a good thing? Like I said, talk about no pressure.

"I'm done Max." She sounded so old. She even looked old. I suppose the whole thing took a lot out of her.

Not bothering to ask if she was ready, I grasped her by her waist and pulled her to her feet. Never breaking contact, I opened my wing and got us out of there. As soon as I passed the turrets though, I started firing.

Skidding to a stop in front of Iggy, I placed her down on the ground. Those around us started to morph.

"I though you disabled the turrets?" asked Iggy, waving a hand. The Erasers immediately started reversing back into human forms. A couple of people glanced around nervously. Obviously no one thought to tell them some Erasers were working for us now.

"Watch," replied Nudge and that's what we did. "Any moment now."

The turrets suddenly ceased firing and blew up. One by one, they were engulfed in a fiery blaze. All together though, they couldn't match the explosion of the bomb that was used before.

"What did you do?" we asked as one.

"A tweak here, a tweak there." She shrugged. "Nothing much. I'm sure if either you or Gazzy got in; you could have caused a bigger explosion."

"A bigger explosion you say. . ." mused Iggy.

"Never mind," I told him.

He simply smiled down at me. "I almost forgot, there's a meeting being held at Fang's Tower. Apparently it's about you and the fact that you've got wings."

"How bad is this going to be?" I asked him.

"Fairly bad judging by the amount of conversation on the air waves," he commented.

"I suppose I should get going then."

"Have fun!!" Iggy called after me.

I replied with something that isn't altogether appropriate. Something along the lines of screw you, except with harsher language. Even Iggy was impressed, especially when I moved onto a second language.

As I walked across the pathway to where the meeting was being held, a couple of the guards glanced at me wondering is I should be stopped or allowed in. One tried to stop me, but. . . lets just say, he won't be able to stand up for a couple of weeks.

Don't look at me like that. I didn't do anything. I didn't even touch him. It was another guard. A guard that just so happened to be an Eraser who was ordered to let me in. One who has always wanted to hurt the other person badly. Like I said. It wasn't my fault the poor human got hurt.

I reached the door, my hand hovering above the wooden handle. I could clearly hear the heated debate that was going on in the room. There was yelling, screaming, cursing. All in all, it sounded like complete havoc. Strangely enough, I never heard Fang's voice.

"You going in?" asked the Eraser.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Easing the door softly closed behind me, I slinked around the main debate, hugging the wall. I felt like screaming. I felt like yelling. Tension was high; I could tell that immediately, most of it was aimed at me and what I was.

That wasn't what made me act the way I did, though. I mean, come on, I've faced a pack of Erasers before. I faced situations were most humans would have cried and lost all hope. I survived being at the School.

But, the closeness of the room. The amount of people squeezed into this one single room scared me more than any of that. There were just. . . so many people. So many people in such a small space. There were no windows, no light. It was dark. It reminded me of the room the Whitecoats kept us in.

That was when one of the member's at the meeting decided to say a couple of things about me. I won't repeat them for they were obscene and highly inappropriate. Fang looked ready to murder him.

Good thing I got to the person in question first then.

I pushed past the people. Not caring about their close proximity. They didn't even glance at me, so intent on the argument they were having. My gaze was locked on that pompous ass up front. Tapping him lightly on the shoulder, he turned just in time to receive a knee to the stomach, followed by an uppercut that sent him to the ground. Blood spraying everywhere from his broken nose.

I calmly stepped over him, not even glancing down at him. Spinning I kicked him again, this time with all my might. I'll admit right now, there was a loud crack of bones breaking. Actually, it was closer to seven cracks as seven of his ribs broke. What can I say, he really pissed me off.

There was a stunned silence as I walked calmly over and stood next to Fang. Although his face was impassive, I could clearly his eyes dancing.

"Dr. Martinez!!" called one person. "Help this man, I think he's injured."

"You _think_ he's injured? Are you sure? I mean, he could be faking it after all. All that blood and all of those snapping sounds bones breaking were certainly not real. Please, I mean any idiot could see that." I couldn't keep that tone out of my voice. I'm sure you know which one I'm referring to. "Is he onlyslightly injured? My apologizes then, I was aiming for maimed for life. Guess I'm getting soft in my old age."

"Dr. Martinez!!" called the person once again over the babble of the other people. "This man is seriously injured."

"No," Dr. Martinez replied calmly. "I will not help him. He can die for all I care."

That caused the whole room to be plunged into silence once again. No one dared to break the silence, except Fang of course.

"Who here wishes Max to be executed or tried for treason?" asked Fang.

No hands were raised.

"Need I repeat the question?" he asked in a whisper. "I seem to remember a couple of people arguing rather loudly a minute before."

This time hands were raised. All those who had argued, raised their hand. I have no idea what compelled them to do so for Fang couldn't have remember all of them. Could he?

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you all killed." I glanced up at Fang. He simply gestured with his fingers and I relaxed.

From the rubbish I could make out that issued from their mouths, the most common was because I'm a hybrid. Apart from that, there was no argument.

Fang held up a hand and everyone shut up. "As seen as we're going to kill of the hybrids, why don't we kill all Pacific Islanders? How about all Buddhists while we're at it?"

At this suggestion, there was an immediate up roar. Once again Fang held up his hand, and once again order was retained.

"You all sit there and cry that it would be racist or genocide or whatever. Personally I don't care what you call it. The simple fact remains that you're willing to kill all hybrids. _All _hybrids and that's completely fine with you." A couple looked down ashamed.

"But look at all they've done!!" cried a woman from the back.

"In that case, when World War Two ended, we should have killed all of the German's? After all, look at what they did," replied Fang. More people looked away. "What you stated just then was that all hybrids should be killed because of the actions of a few."

"A few!!" cried a person from the front this time. "Since when has any hybrid done any good?"

"Let me see, there's Orphius, Total the talking dog." He ticked them off as he went along. "I don't know if you realized, but two of the towers we took in the first assault was taken with hybrids only. No humans were present. I believe a couple hundred took part in that single assault." He surveyed the people. "Need I go on?"

"None of them are in positions of power. They're only underfoot," continued the person.

"Is that so?" Fang smiled. I immediately gulped. When he uses that smile, you better run. "Orphius is head of out spy network and Assistant Chief Scientist, Iggy's the Chief Scientist, Gazzy's also Assistant Chief Scientist when Orphius is out, Nudge works in mechanics and I believe she's being groomed to be Chief Mechanic when Jodiane retires. Many of you know Luke to be Head of Training when it comes to fighting and is also a tactical genius, but what you don't know is that he's also an Eraser. Our best spy is a Ghost. And. . ." he paused for effect.

From the look of things, almost everyone was on Fang's side and were on the edge of their seats, waiting. Slowly, Fang unfurled his black wings. "And your _leader _is also a hybrid."

We sat there for a while, both our wings revealed as the people muttered among themselves. After a while, all the talking died down and Fang continued. "This is a stupid prejudice you people have against hybrids. As a result, the assault teams will be disbanded and placed in new ones. Ones that are a combination of human and hybrid."

A person stood up, asking permission to speak. Fang gave it. "I believe that this is a good idea," he spoke slowly and precisely, with a slight English accent. "Human's and Hybrids need to learn to trust each other. Although we didn't create them-" He threw an apologetic glance for the choice of word. "-we are left to live with them. They are now apart of this nation even if some wish it was not so." It looked as if he was about to say more, when he simply shook his head and sat down.

"How do we know we'll be able to trust them? After all, they might be spies," questioned one person. "They did have everything they wanted when they were at Itex."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. People immediately turned to face me. "Everything we wanted? _Everything _we wanted? A better description would be hell on earth. Where to start, where to start," I mused out loud to myself. "Ah yes, I know." It was then I launched into an in depth description of the horrors and cruelties of life at Itex.

"What you explained was life for experiments, I'm asking about those for the Eraser and Ghosts," explained the person.

Everyone turned and glanced at Luke. "Life for an Eraser and Ghost isn't much better. I'll admit, we were fed, clothed and taken care of, but we lived in constant fear. The Whitecoats had complete control over us. If I so much as breathed in the wrong direction, I could find myself without a head. And that's if we're lucky. The unlucky ones were turned into lab rats. The experiments carried out on us were deemed too 'dangerous' to risk on the other hybrids. Because we were considered _expendable_." He shook his head sadly.

There was a stunned silence as everyone mulled over out combined words. Even I was silent. I had always thought the Eraser were treated like royalty. That they had everything they wanted and lived in peace. Somehow immune to experiments. Yet, I found myself in a sick realization of the evils undertaken by the 'pets' of the Whitecoats.

The fear from before seized me again at that moment. I had to get out; my anger could no longer be suppressed. Turning, I walked out of the room. An isle opened up for me. Outside, even the soldiers gave me a room. They must have heard what was being said inside.

Strangely, one soldier's broke the pattern and came up to me, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," was all he said.

Somehow I managed to smile and tell him it was alright. Strangely enough, everything was alright. If everyone was as understanding about the situation as that boy, then everything would turn out fine.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Raymond, but everyone calls me Ray."

With those words, he strolled off, back to duty. He never questioned why I had asked for his name. Trust. That's what we need. Trust.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**

_**B/N: Hey guys, I think I fixed all of the errors but if you find any, tell me and I will go back and fix them. Review and he'll update faster. . .**_


	44. Underground Tunnels Again

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Also, a very, very big thanks to my Beta who has cleared up this chapter so much. Without her, this chapter would have been confusing as hell and taken a couple more days before I could update. Thank you ever so much.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius is mine.**

Chapter XXXXIII

Underground Passages. . . Again.

Max PoV

"Three."

We were all on the edge of our seats. Watching the second wall and waiting. No one spoke, even the air ways were silent.

"Two."

For once Nudge wasn't talking, in fact no one was talking. We waited with baited breaths…

"One."

That's when the world decided to end.

Everyone was thrown backwards and onto the ground form the sheer force of the explosion. Dust filled my mouth and rubble flew over our heads. Iggy had told the medics to move further back, but they said it was impossible. Doing that would condemn some of the patients to death.

I suppose they should have listened for some rubble flew exceptionally close.

It's good that only flyboys worked on the second wall; otherwise we'd have had blood flying everywhere and limbs soaring over our heads.

However, the wall itself lay in ruins; not even the towers stood any longer. All that was left was a pathetic ring of debris where the second wall once stood. All this destruction caused by two bombs: one at the north end and one at the south. However, even after witnessing this most recent explosion, it was hard to comprehend that Iggy and Gazzy had larger more powerful bombs in hand for the main Itex building.

Planting a bomb was simple, all it required was someone with super speed so you wouldn't be shot and a blind kid to install them, so that it wouldn't blow up by accident. Like I said, 'simple'.

As everyone rushed forward, making a mad dash for the cover produced by the rubble, Orphius and I slipped off in another direction. We went back down, to the underground tunnels from before.

The dripping water echoed around us and the fighting from above filtered through louder than before. I guess the explosion had affected things down here as well.

We waded through the muck slowly, dodging past rubble that had fallen from the roof. Every so often Orphius would call a halt or slip off to some side tunnel and I followed without question. He had better ears, eyes and nose than I did. If he said someone was coming, then someone was indeed coming.

I kept my eyes as those of an Eraser so that if Ghosts came, I would be able to see them and would be able to fight with Orphius. Or possibly it was because I felt a need to deliver some major ass kicking if needed, but it never came to that. We slipped past their defense easily, only stopping once to take out a couple of guards.

"Max," whispered Orphius.

"What?"

"You go ahead, go through that door and I'll catch up."

"What? Why?"

"Just go, there is something I need to take care of first."

"Don't let him," whispered my other half.

"_Why should I listen to you?" _I growled back.

"Max, you have to go now, before-" his words were cut off as insane laughter erupted from behind us.

"Look what I've found," stated a familiar voice. In fact, it was more than familiar, it was my voice. Looks like my clone is back.

"What do you want? Didn't I kill you already?" I spat at her.

"Looks like you've only got one arm this time."

"I only need one arm to beat you."

"Ladies, ladies," interrupted Orphius.

I shot him a look. Ladies? I wasn't quite sure whether I should be flattered or insulted.

"A talking wolf? How amusing. What happened to that talking dog of yours?" she asked politely. "Just as useless I'm guessing."

Orphius smiled; it reminded me of how a hunter looks upon their prey. "How about you come here and see for yourself? See how useless I really am."

Something passed between them and I had no idea what it was; something was being said on a subtle level and even I couldn't figure out what it was. It reminded me of politics, and I hate politics.

I watched as the two of them circled each other. Neither of them seemed to notice me at all; both were intent on the other.

I've seen many fights in my time, but this one took the cake. Their blows rained down on each other so fast, I could barely follow. Usually you do a couple hits to test your opponent's weaknesses and strengths. These two didn't even bother; they just dived straight into the fight.

They moved from side to side, easily navigating the rubble that lay all over the ground. I was going to help them, but two things stopped me: the Voice and my Eraser half.

"_Don't interfere Max, this is important," _stated the Voice.

My Eraser half, on the other hand, went for the more direct approach. "If you help Orphius, I'll kill you." Good to know…

And so I stood by mutely and watched.

Max II launched a kick straight to Orphius' face, but he simply altered his body position slightly so that it just barely missed. Shuffling off to the side, his claws flashed out, cutting cleanly through the muscle. She didn't so much as wince.

She dropped down on one knee as her leg buckled under her, however, her good leg flashed out catching Orphius in the face sending him to the ground. Collapsing, she rolled off to the side and stood up once more.

Orphius stood up, blood running down one side his face; that last kick had opened up his stitches; he was effectively blind on one side.

Once again, if either side felt the pain or discomfort, neither showed it. They simply continued to circle each other, gasping for breath and waiting for an opening; the next hit would win.

Max II acted first. Swiping a metal pole from off the ground, she threw it. Orphius ducked under it, but his movements were sluggish. Sensing her chance, she snapped open her wings and charged, no longer needing to use her legs.

Faster I thought possible, certainly faster than Max II had expected as well, Orphius rolled off to the side allowing Max II to blast past harmlessly. But before she could turn and face him again, he leapt onto her back. There was a flash, as light struck his claw and Max II fell limply to the ground; dead.

Orphius simply got off her body and looked over at me. "I thought I told you to get away and that I could catch up with you later."

"I had to stay," I heard myself say.

Ignoring him completely, I walked past him and knelt down next to Max II. I placed my hand on her body. For some strange and unknown reason, I couldn't control my movements. I tried to fight against it, but couldn't.

Don't you just love it when someone else takes over your body completely?

"Angel?" called out my Eraser half.

"**What is it Max?" **she asked, then did a double take. **"You're the Eraser half of Max, aren't you?"**

"You said you'd give me a body, it was part of our deal. Well, I choose this one," my Eraser half told her.

"**Very well."**

I experienced a sudden sense of vertigo and then everything went out around me. When I came, I saw Orphius' face dangerously close to mine, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Hey," I managed to say.

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

He jerked his head to the right and I saw the Eraser version of myself, a look of bewilderment plastered all over her face. "So this is what it feels like to have a body," she mused out loud.

"I thought she was dead, well at least that the body was dead," I muttered to Orphius under my breath.

"I thought so too, but she just stood up and all that remains are scars. Nothing more." He shook his head. "She grew fur as well, apparently she's trapped in Eraser morph."

"I'll ask my Voice, maybe for once I'll be getting a decent answer that's not some fortune cookie quote. If that doesn't work, Angel might know something," I told him.

Turning my conscious inward, I voiced my question, _"Hey Voice, you got any idea as to why my Eraser Half turned up?"_

Silence. How original.

"_Angel? What about you? Same question."_

"**I know some parts Max, but not the whole thing. I can make some guesses, but. . ."**

"_Just tell me."_

"**You probably don't know, but remember when you loosed Eraser Max on us and tried to kill me and the others?"**

"_You deserved it," _I interrupted.

She wisely ignored my comment. **"Anyway. The reason we didn't die is because I made a deal. In exchange for our lives, I'd get her a body to inhabit."**

"_While you're telling me about what happened almost a year ago, why don't you give me your whole entire life history as well. I'm sure that'd be so much more interesting."_

"**I'm getting there. I'm getting there. Okay, I'm sure it involves what Eraser Max is, but I don't know what she is, so I can't fill you in there. But, all I did was use my skill to move her conscious from you to the dead Max II."**

"Are you two maggots going to stay there and mutter behind my back or are we going to continue on with the mission?" demanded my Eraser half, annoyed.

Sighing, I got up and dusted myself off. "Orphius you first, followed by my other half and I'll pick up the rear."

"You don't trust me do you?" asked my other half. "And can you use my name? I do have one you know."

"I don't know your name," I snapped back. "Tell me and I might just consider using it."

"My name's Re," she told us.

"Whatever." I whirled around and walked of after Orphius as he made his way up the stairs.

_Re _caught up with us and took her appointed slot in the middle of our merry group. From my angle, I could clearly see the claw mark on the back of her neck. No one should have survived an injury like that, and yet here she was, using Max II's body as if it had never been injured.

Light slowly crept into the stairway as Orphius nudged open the door with his snout. He looked both ways, sniffed the air and listened intently before turning back to face us.

"There's a dozen or so guards around the corner," he reported.

"A dozen? That's it? Pathetic. I say we kill them off and get on with our mission," supplied Re.

"Are you insane?" I rebuked her. "If we did that, we'd have the whole of Itex on us in a matter of seconds."

"It doesn't matter how many they have, I'll kill them all," she replied.

I shook my head. "We'll sneak past them then. Orphius, head west with Re and open up the gates, I'll continue on as planned."

"What's up with the sudden change of plans?" he asked.

"There's far too many people in here. There's no way we can sneak past them all without a diversion," I told them.

"What do you call the fight outside?" demanded Orphius.

"A diversion, but not large enough. If you two can manage to open four gates then the fight will be in here and _that _will be a better diversion than any," I told them.

"Why must I follow this _dog_?_" _demanded Re, giving Orphius a murderous look. "I say we leave everyone else out of it and kill all of these weaklings ourselves."

"I doubt you can take care of them all," I told her. "You're going with Orphius because I need to sneak around for a bit. Besides, I'll be far to busy to make sure you aren't up to anything."

"Fine," they grumbled in unison.

I was mildly surprised. I thought both of them would complain some more, especially Re. Orphius could see the tactical benefits of such a scheme, but I was afraid he would argue about my safety, while Re would argue just for the sake of it.

"We'll have to get past these guards first," remarked Orphius.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. Maybe while you're at it you want to point out that I'm an Eraser, she's got wings and you're a bloody talking wolf?" stated Re.

"She's as bad as you," I heard Orphius mutter.

I couldn't help, but chuckle at his response. "Look up dog," replied Re.

We did. And sitting above us, in plain sight, was an air vent. You'd think the Whitecoats would be more intelligent than that wouldn't you?

"It goes to the west gate," I told them. "You two go through that way and I'll continue on to the center."

"Will you be able to make it?"

"Super speed," I told him. "I doubt they'll see me at all."

He nodded and I helped him up into the vent as they disappeared.

I took a deep breath and unfurled my wings. Kicking off the ground, I flashed past the guards, skidding to a stop on the other side. This may turn out easier than I thought.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	45. Trinity

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius and plot are mine though.**

Chapter XXXXIV

Trinity.

Max PoV

"Hurry!!"

I pressed my back harder against the wall. I was wet, cold, and tired, all I wanted was to do was rest. Instead I was in a tight situation that had me jumping at the slightest sound. "What's going on?"

"They've breached the South Gate. Hurry!!"

There were shouts of dismay and people began enquiring if there was a spy in their midst, but they followed their commander dutifully.

It was only when they had disappeared that I realized I was holding my breath. Exhaling it slowly, I eased out of the room and closed the door softly behind me. All the while, my ears were intent for any sounds that indicated people were coming.

Standing up, I used my sense of direction to guide me. The elevator was at the core, that's what Fang had told me. I sure hoped he was right and that he was okay.

Easing the gun out of its holster, I crept forwards, stopping every couple of seconds to check behind me. I heard approaching footsteps, but it was getting harder and harder to hear anything, the gunfire in the outer corridors kept filtering through and masking the more subtle sounds.

A shockwave ran through the ground and I staggered but quickly regained my balance: Iggy and Gazzy. I needed to keep those two on a leash or something.

I advanced several steps under the impression that I was perfectly safe only to hear a loud crash behind me. Startled, I whirled around in time to see pieces of the roof collapsing. The ceiling heaved and I dove out of the way in time to avoid being crushed by the large piece of rumble that rested in the place in which I stood moments beforehand.

From down the corridor, on either side, I heard footsteps. Multiple footsteps. I was caught in the middle and guess what? No side rooms. Not that I need them. What was that famous quote again? Ah, yes now I remember, 'Up, up and away.'

That's exactly what I decided to do. Straight up I went. Through the hole onto the next floor. Which, surprisingly, wasn't the best idea.

As luck would have it, I ended in a testing room. Yeah, you heard me; I just happened to land in one of the multiple rooms that Whitecoats perform tests in. And guess what? Whitecoats were in the room.

Time for some revenge.

They had about. . . a second I guess to blink in surprise before I shot them all. Hey, it was perfectly justifiable. Plus, at least it was quick and painless, can't say that about the tests now can you?

I quickly freed the poor girl on the table and handed her the keys I got from the Whitecoat. "Go free the others now, alright?" I told her.

"Who are you and why are you helping me?" she demanded.

"Me? I'm no one, just another test subject like you. Now go," I shoved her out the door.

Below me, I could hear the Flyboys and a Whitecoat giving orders. More specifically, orders to fly up here and investigate the sound. Don't these _geniuses _know the sound of gunfire? Apparently not.

So I did the only thing I could. Okay, I lied, not the only thing, but the thing that gave me the most satisfaction. I dropped a bomb straight down the hole and watched explosions through the hole.

Probably not the smartest thing I could have done as seen as the floor and walls are in such bad shape. They really shouldn't have skipped out on the materials when building this place.

The floor started crumbling beneath my feet. If you really wanted the truth, there wasn't much floor left at all; the bomb had destroyed it all. So I simply hovered in midair as I slowly made my way towards the door. Opening it, I stepped through and tucked my wings in.

As soon as my feet touched the ground though, I felt it starting to crumble beneath my feet. Seriously, what the hell did they build this place with?

I didn't have time to wonder. I knew people would be coming to investigate the explosion and I had to get as far away from here as possible. The farther away I am, the earlier I can finish this war, and less people will be killed.

I no longer bothered with being silent, I raced through the hallways. It was now about how fast I could through this bloody maze. Stealth was no longer necessary; the battle was slowly reaching the center of Itex.

I had to stay ahead of them. Stay ahead and keep ahead; that was the plan. Otherwise too many people would die trying to breach the top levels. I hope Fang could hold them off long enough.

Skidding to a stop, I pushed the button and the door slid open slowly. Stepping in, I ripped of the panel and pulled out the wires. Systematically, I went around each elevator and did the same.

Job completed, I reached up and removed the top vent at the top of the elevator and climbed out. However, I still wasn't done. I pulled out the bombs Iggy had given me and planted them on each of the cables. Flying off to the top, I pried open the door before I detonated the bombs.

Above the roar of the flame I could hear the elevator as it screeched down the shaft and crashed at the below ground levels.

Dusting myself off, I stepped forwards and through the door into a hall: a very, very large hall. Wait, that description isn't good enough. I believe something a long the lines of 'a-hall-big-enough-to-encompass-everyone-and-everything-in-the-world' would be better.

And guess what? On the floor there was that mosaic of Ari, Orphius and me. That thing creeps me out.

"So glad of you to finally join us," remarked a voice from the other side.

I had to squint to make out who it was. "Ari?"

"The one and only." He stood there fully morphed.

We both strode across the floor until I could smell him. Amazingly enough, I was still a couple dozen feet away. I glanced around the room, but made sure I could see him out of the corner of my eye as I did so.

It was rather plain to be honest. There was no furniture, merely a set of lavish steps that spiraled up one more level. No pillars to hide anyone behind so we were alone for now. There were windows, but Orphius had told me there were bullet and blast proof.

"What do you think?" he asked me.

"Pretty bland is you ask me. Even the walls are a dull white."

He shrugged. "Not my choice of colors, the Director wanted them. Not me. Personally I would have gone with something different. Blood red comes to mind."

"What's up with the mural?"

"Oh, this thing? I'm surprised no one told you. Orphius knows after all."

"Why don't you enlighten me then?"

"We're leaders. Us three. I lead the Erasers and Ghosts; you led the Flock and Arc, while Orphius leads his pack and the scientists. Like I said, we're all leaders." He must have noticed my expression. "Were you expecting something more profound?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"I have another idea, but. . ." he trailed off as if embarrassed.

"What is it?"

"I found a file on my Jeb's desk on day. It simply read, 'One created to destroy. One created to save. One created to guide the two on their journey.' Truthfully, I can't make heads or tails of that mumble jumbo."

"You were created to destroy," I speculated. "I was created to save. . . Does that mean Orphius was created to guide us?"

"Done a poor job of it if you ask me."

"_I think I did a good job myself,"_ remarked a dry voice in my head.

I jerked up straight and saw Ari doing a similar motion.

"Can you-" we spoke at the same time and froze.

"_What Ari said was true, but I wasn't created to lead the scientists, I was created to lead you two. I must admit, it was harder than I had expected, but I think I did pretty well."_

"Orphius, when I get my hands on you, I will kill you." I spoke out loud. It's not as if Ari would think I'm insane. After all, he heard the Voice as well.

A crackling laughter came echoed in my head. _"You'll have to catch me first. If I remember correctly, I can outrun both of you."_

"Orphius!!" I screamed.

There was no reply.

"Damn him," I muttered under my breath.

"Should you curse him or should I?" asked Ari. "I probably know more curses than you do."

"Ah, but I can also curse in different languages and you can't."

"_This is all well and nice, but can you two please get on with it?"_

We both sighed. "So do you feel like surrendering?" I asked him.

"No. Do you?" he replied.

"Not really."

"You know what this means right?" I asked him.

He nodded. "A fight to the death." A grin suddenly plastered over his face. "Sorry, but I've always wanted to say that."

It was times like that when I truly realize how young he is. How old was he again? Eleven? Eleven and he's already done so much, seen so much. No human should have gone through what he has.

"I'm sorry Ari," I whispered as I slipped into a stance.

"Sorry for what?"

"Everything. You've lived through hell three times over and you're only eleven. I'm sorry Ari."

For a brief second, something passed over his features. Something that I couldn't quite place. Then he shook his head and it disappeared.

"No, I won't listen to your lies. She said you would do this. She said you would say things like this. I won't fall for it. I won't." When he gazed back up, there was a new fiercer determination in them. "I'll protect the Director, like I promised. I'll protect until I draw my last breath."

"You do realize that Arc members will be storming up here in a matter of minutes?"

"You do realize that Fang isn't the only one with spies in the enemy camp?" He smiled that cocky smile of his. "Look down."

I did as he bid and saw the floor falling away from beneath my feet. My wings flashed open in surprise, but I could still something solid under my feet. I knelt down and tapped it.

"Bullet proof?" I asked him.

"And shock proof. Keep watching."

Strangely, I trusted myself to look away from him and glance down. To my surprise, I saw all of the walls and floors disintegrating. Every single last level. In the end, all that was left were the steal beans that held this floor and the one above it up.

The screams of those caught will haunt me forever. The sight of people jumping out of windows to stop being buried alive will be what I see whenever I close my eyes from now on.

"Itex's last line of defense. Only three people know about." With those words, he settled down into a fighting stance. I did the same.

One last battle, one last fight. Just one more time, and then . . . then I can rest and be with Fang.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**


	46. Checkmate

**A/N Short chapter this time round. Thanks to all reviewers. An especially big thanks to NellaBella41 who made this chapter a lot better than it orginally was.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius and story line are mine.**

Chapter XXXXV

Checkmate.

Max PoV

We circled each other. Neither of us making the first move. I never took my eyes off him. He never took his off me. We were just circling. Slowly.

His foot snaked out, aiming for my head. Ducking under it easily, I landed a punch in his stomach and followed up with a kick. He staggered back slightly, but managed to regain his balance before I could press my advantage. Even with one arm, I was still a match for him.

Once again we started circling, faster this time. Ari knew I was no pushover now and was more cautious, he wouldn't rush me like before.

This time, I made the first move. A quick snap shot at his head which he simply blocked with a flick of a wrist. Allowing my momentum to carry me forwards, I swung my back leg in an arc.

He lazily took half a step back so it breezed by. As soon as my foot touched the ground, I shuffled back, wondering why he didn't attack while I had my back facing him.

Ari must have known what I was thinking for he gave me a smile that sent shivers down my back. You know the one; the smile that makes them look as if they've got something up their sleeve and nothing you can do will change anything.

I hate it when people deicide to mix psychological battles with physical ones.

This time when we circled, we went counter-clockwise. Still at the same pace, but each of us having an idea of what the other is capable of now.

His fist flew out, a weak punch that I blocked without much thought. Sadly, thinking was exactly what I should have done.

He lashed out with his other claw this time. Unfortunately, with my one and only arm so off the defensive line, it was impossible for me to block his second punch. So I did the only thing I could.

My left leg flashed up, sweeping from the left to the right in front of my face. My foot connecting with Ari's fist squarely, blocking his attack. I wasn't finished though. As soon as my foot touched the ground, it came back up going the other way this time, catching him on the face and breaking his nose.

Blood poured out, staining the glass floor. I don't know if he blocked out the pain or what, but he recovered a lot faster than I expected him to. For from his doubled over position, he came right up in an uppercut that sent me flying across the room.

Acting from pure instinct, I rolled and lashed out with my foot before coming to my feet. I knew that if I was caught on the ground, I would be dead. He's stronger and weighs more than I do.

We stared at each other from across the floor. Both of us wiped the sweat and blood from our face. I was breathing hard; sweat drenched my clothes and stung my eyes, but I dared not blink. We were both looking for an opening, any opening.

"Aren't you going to ask me why?" he questioned.

"Not really." I shrugged. "You have your reason just as I have mine."

I never let my eyes leave his. Talking only had one purpose in fights like these, it was a two-sided blade, and the only reason for it was to distract the opponent. All you needed was to distract them long enough to throw them off guard with a surprise hit. However, it's also possible become distracted yourself, so in the end, it's quite a gamble.

"Max," he complained. "You're taking all the fun out of this you know? You're supposed to ask why I've done all of this and then I'm meant to reveal my master plan."

"You have a master plan?" I asked.

My gaze shifted to his eyes. A person's eyes are one of those few places whereby one can be warned of a sudden attack, the only flaw is that it is near impossible to get a good look into someone's eyes whilst in the midst of fight; you might just miss that fist coming to your stomach. In situations like these however, it was perfect.

"No. Not really." He smiled sheepishly.

"There is one thing though," I started. He gestured for me to continue. "Why did you stay with Itex? I've heard what it's like to work here as an Eraser, Ari. So why?"

I don't know why I asked that question; I don't think I'd ever find out. It just came to me. I suppose I wanted to know the truth, the reason. One of us was going to die tonight and I figured that I should know, before it was too late.

His eyes got that distant look. "I made a promise Max. I made a promise a long time ago and I plan to keep it." His eyes snapped back into focus. "And I never break a promise."

"A promise, Ari? What possible promise could you make that's so important? What's so damn important?" I nearly yelled at him.

I could see the frustration building up behind his eyes. The anger was also there, but not as much. There was a tinge of sadness. I don't know why it was there, but it was. Was he sad because of me or because of something else?

"I made a promise to keep her safe Max. I promised her, and I have to keep her safe, have to." His words got softer with each sentence. "I'm not like you Max. You promised to keep the Flock safe, then broke it. I don't plan on doing the same."

That was a low blow, like a shared of ice that was stabbed into my heart; he had no right to bring that up. So I did the only thing I could, I lunged at him.

Though that probably not the smartest thing to do, because I forgot the most basic of rule of fighting, it was up there with 'Don't expose your back to your opponent.' I forgot the number one principle: Do not let your emotions interfere, especially anger. When you let your anger influence you're fighting, you become reckless, and eventually, that _will_ get you killed.

He simply shuffled towards me then suddenly sidestepped to my right side. I mimicked his action so that we came face to face once again.

A growl of frustration escaped his lips and I made my move. There might be anger, but I was still in control. Somewhat.

I charged towards him as fast as I could, but just as he lashed out hoping to catch me, I dropped down flat on the ground. Using my hand as a pivot, my foot swept along the ground. His feet went out from under him sending him to the ground.

Just as I had done earlier, he rolled away from me and came to his feet, breathing hard. Not as hard as I was though. In other words: crap.

There was no rest this time though, we both went back into the fray. We exchanged blows. I would love to say that I had the upper hand, that I dealt more damage than I received, but it would be lie.

But since when have I let lies stop me? Since lies can get me killed. Yeah, I said the 'K' word. Get over it.

I stumbled back, blood dripping down the side of my face. My pants were glued to my leg as my blood trailed down my side from a gash I had received. My arm felt numb from the force of the blows I had to block and my leg was lead.

Facing me calmly was Ari, he wasn't as bad off as I was, but bad enough. I managed to land a couple of good blows. The damage I delivered consisted of a cracked rib and a broken arm. Not much blood, but at least I had evened out the playing field slightly. Both of us could only use one arm now.

I wiped my feet on the glass floor. Getting rid of that blood on the bottom of my shoe, which might make me slip in that crucial moment. Not that it helped much thanks to that pool of blood at my feet.

I blinked a couple of times in surprise. There was no way I could win. The realization hit like one of Iggy's bombs. How much blood have I lost already? How much time do I have before blood loss makes me weak? A couple of minutes? Hours?

I gazed at Ari, my fogged up mind clearing slightly. He was breathing hard, but not as hard as I had thought he would, he didn't even look tired. I on the other hand felt as if I've been through hell and back again.

The question didn't come down to who would win, but what would happen afterwards. There was no way I could win. No way at all. He wasn't tired at all right now; he wasn't even as injured as I was.

Sure he had a broken arm and a cracked rib, but that wasn't enough. I had lost too much blood and was too tired. I had to crawl through Itex to get here while Ari on the other hand, was well rested.

Even though we had come so far, there was no way I could win. I realized hat everything was for naught. Itex has won. Arc has lost.

_Because of me…_

Checkmate.

**A/N Reviews would be nice.**

**B/N: I do believe that I have corrected all of the grammatical and spelling errors and have made the chapter flow better, however, if you catch a stray mistake, feel free to mention it and I will correct it right away. I apologize if you find any. **


	47. Decision

**A/N Thanks to all reviewers. Some many people are going to kill me because of this chapter. Just remember, one more chapter to go and this story is over. So no killing me until then.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius and storyline are mine though.**

Chapter XXXXVI

Decision.

Max PoV

It's amazing what happens when you know you're going to die; it really snaps everything into perspective. You realize all of times you've screwed up, who truly loves you and who you truly love. You realize that although you can wish all you want for something to happen, and it won't.

Death is about seeing both the black and the white: the good and the evil. And after seeing both sides you realize that they're only words.

Like I said, death snaps everything into perspective.

There are a couple of things people say that happen when you're almost dead. The most common is that your life flashes before your eyes. I've got this to say, it's a load of crap. If was any closer to death, I'd be dead already.

And so far? Nothing. Not even a flash.

Leaning over me, with his hands around my neck was Ari with murderous glint in his yellow eyes. His teeth were bared, and despite the blood pouring down his arms due to the scratches, he still managed to hold me in place.

The edges of my vision were already blurred from lack of oxygen that my lungs were dying for, literally. Sorry lungs, I would love to comply, but I don't think Ari would let me go even if I asked politely. Maybe a cookie would do it, but I doubt it.

My vision slowly decreased with each passing second and I was too feeble to fight against him. A couple more seconds, that's all it would take. All I had left to live was several seconds, a minute at most.

"_I'm sorry,"_ I managed to get out to Orphius, _"I've failed you and everyone else."_

I thought there would be a reply. Some comforting words from Orphius would have made this easier to bear. But all I got was silence. I lay here, being slowly choked to death and he doesn't even answer me.

A cruel smile danced upon Ari's lips. He leaned down so that his muzzle was next to my ear and whispered, "It looks like I won Max. Jeb loved you more, but I won in the end. Any last words?"

"Stick it. You know where," I managed to mutter.

"Amusing. Real amusing," he replied.

_If _this was a movie, someone would appear to take Ari out.

_If _this was a book, something would happen to distract Ari and allow me to get the upper hand.

_If _this was fiction, the good guys would always win.

_If _there was a god, he would have gotten me out of this mess.

The key word in all of the above? If.

"_**ARI!!"**_ The scream tore through the world.

I suppose there must be a god after all, none of the other if's are plausible.

I expected Ari to kill me; to break my neck and run off to whoever called him. Instead, he fled. He simply disappeared in a shower of feathers as he whipped out his wings and flew up the stairs at an alarming speed.

Now, in a movie I would be on my feet chasing after him in a heartbeat. As stated above, this is not a movie, but real life. Andin _real_ life, after being choked half to death, there is often a couple minutes of hard breathing.

Once most of my vision had come back and I could actually stand up, I unfurled my wings. Shakily taking off, I managed to get up into the air, scooping up my discarded gun in the process.

Using the last reserves of my energy, I added a shot of super speed to make up for lost time. Flaring to a stop, I landed lightly on the floor.

I ignored the screams of protest from my muscles, the blood the blood dripping onto the ground, ignored the fact that with so much blood lost, I should be dead.

I ignored the fatigue that was swamping my mind, telling me that I should rest.

Instead I made my shakily through the corridor with one hand on the wall to keep me up right. Off in the distance, I could see Ari standing still, his shape silhouetted by the light coming from the room.

Half stumbling through the door, I saw something surprising.

First off, there was Eraser Max or Re as she liked to be called holding a gun. How she got here and why is something I would very much like to know.

Secondly was the fact that the gun wasn't pointed at Ari, instead it was aimed at a girl no older than Angel.

Thirdly, and this surprised me the most, was that Ari was not making any attempt to attack Re.

"You shouldn't have come," panted Ari.

I glanced sharply at him. "A warning coming from you? I suppose I should be honored."

"So another maggot has come to play." Re shrugged. "No matter. Let the bugs come, I'll squash them all."

"You're going to kill the little girl?" I asked her.

"This one? She's the Director. Or didn't you know that?" She smiled at my reaction.

"Her? She's just a girl." I looked over at Ari for him to confirm or deny it. He stayed immobile, gaze never wondering from Re. If looks could kill, Re would have died a thousand painful deaths.

"This _girl _is responsible for everything. Surely you want her die, to suffer."

I wasn't looking at her though. "Ari?"

"Yes she's the Director. That's only her title though; she's too young to see to the everyday running of Itex. The person who does that is already dead. I made sure of that. She's merely the scapegoat," he replied.

"You see Re? She's not responsible for what was done to you. That person's already dead. You don't have to shoot her."

Re threw back her head and laughed at what I had said. "She did nothing to me. She didn't even create me. You did that Max. I was born from you anger, your frustration, your fear. And now I'm taking out all of that anger and resentment on the person responsible for it." She threw me a chilling smile. "That's what you want isn't it?"

I opened my mouth to protest.

"Don't try to deny it Max. I'm the embodiment of all your negative emotions. I know that's what you want to do even if you don't want to admit it." Her grip tightened on the trigger. "Better say bye-bye to Ari. You're about to be squashed like the bug that you are." She looked over at Ari. "Anything you want to say?"

"Close you eyes dear."

"What a waste of words," sneered Re.

With those words, a gun shot rang out. Has a sound ever sounded more satisfying? I think not.

Down on my knees, with my gun in my hand, I saw Re topple over, a bullet hole in her heart and forehead. What can I say, I'm a good shot. Next to me, Ari had a gun in his hand as well, a satisfied look on his face.

"Where were you aiming?" I asked him.

"The forehead," he replied.

"That's funny; I was aiming there as well. Looks like one of us missed."

"Does it matter?"

"Not really."

"Ari?" came the frightened question.

He crossed the space between them with a couple of strides and pulled her up into his arms. All the while he was whispering soothing words in her ear. Similar to how Fang would sometimes hold me.

He didn't even bother looking at me for I was already forgotten. He walked around the desk and shattered the window with the butt of his gun. Dislodging the glass shards, he climbed onto the window sill.

"Ari," I called out. He looked back. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

He simply shook his head. "I think not Max. I've got all I ever wanted in my arms. You can blow up Itex for all I care."

He tensed ready to up out.

"Wait," I called.

"You better get out of here while you still can. I've set Itex to go into Lockdown in about three minutes. Once that happens nothing will be able to enter and exit," he told me.

"Why?"

"I was never fond of Itex. The only reason I stayed was for Mia here. Do what you will Max, I don't really give a damn."

Just before he jumped out the window, I managed to limp over and place a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be coming with you." At his murderous look I added, "Just to make sure you're not up to anything."

There was a couple seconds awkward silence and it would have been longer if Mia didn't reach up and touch Ari lightly on the face. When he glanced down, the ice went out of his eyes and I saw him smile tenderly.

"You can trust her Ari. She is your sister after all and she won't betray us," stated Mia in a sleepy voice. "She just wants to make sure we aren't up to anything like building a new Itex." Her head rolled over to look at me. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah," I managed to get out weakly.

"You go down and tell them that we're all dead. See a medic and we'll wait out in the ruins. Bring the medic with you to treat Ari here and then we can be on our way." Said Mia.

This time I did blink in surprise and it obviously showed on my face for Ari just smiled at me. Not one of those really creepy smiles, but that a brother gives a sister or friend when they're caught doing something bad. I've seen Iggy and Gazzy exchange looks just like that.

"I suggest you get moving," he told me, "Lockdown's in about one minute. Remember to tell the people to say out, as well."

With those parting words, he jumped out the window and was gone. Following his example, I climbed onto the window sill and jumped. As soon as I had enough room for my wings, I snapped them open. The longer I fell towards the ground, the more it would hurt when I flared. So, I decided to glide my way down.

"_I didn't lose, Orphius. I'm still alive and so is Ari. If you tell me to kill him, I'll hunt you down okay? This works out fine, as it is." _Strangely there wasn't an answer. _"Did I do something wrong? Orphius?"_

I looked down to see if I could spot him, but I didn't see him anywhere. What I did see though was people digging through the rubble to pull the dead from the underneath it all.

"_Angel!!" _I called out remembering what Ari had said. _"Get those people out of Itex. It's going into lockdown and anyone trapped inside will not be able to get out."_

"**Max!! You're-"**

"_Get those people out of there!!"_

"**There's something I need t-"**

"_Get those people out of there!! NOW!!"_

Down below, I could see the people running back. Whatever Angel had told them, it worked. They were all scrambling. A couple stayed behind, but those who did were quickly pulled back by others.

"Hey there," whispered a familiar voice in my ear.

I turned my head and looked into the eyes of Fang. "When did you get here?" I asked him.

"I've been carrying you for the past couple of minutes. We were afraid you were going to fall out of the sky." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I've already sent for Ella to look at your wounds."

"Where's Orphius?" I could immediately feel him tense. "What Fang? What is it?"

He didn't answer, instead he simply looked away. But I could see the pain and sadness in his eyes.

"No." I shook my head. "No, this can't be happening. No. Please Fang, tell me it's a joke. Anything. NO!!" I beat my fist against his chest. He simply pulled me closer to him and soothed me with words. "Who else Fang? Who else is gone?"

He sighed. "I didn't want to tell you so soon, but. . . Iggy was hurt. More accurately, a Flyboy managed to get one of his eyes, similar to Orphius' damage. Not that it matters much since he's blind. Gazzy's left leg was badly torn up and the medics say it'll never be like it used to be. He'll walk with a limp from now on. Nudge got a couple broken bones, but nothing serious and Angel managed to get through without a scratch. My arm was badly torn up, but it's fine now."

"So Orphius was the only one." The thought didn't cheer me up. "How did he die?" I asked as we landed.

"I'll tell you after Ella has treated your wounds."

"Tell me now," I demanded in a weak voice. But was already loosing consciousness. It was amazing that I had lasted this long as it is. As I drifted slowly off, the main thought in my mind was that Orphius was gone.

He was gone.

I woke up slowly. I felt so tired and weak; I doubt I could have fought off a dust bunny. Beside me was Fang slumped in a chair holding my hand. I wonder how long he's been there.

"Hey, you're awake," remarked a voice on the other side.

I turned over and faced Ella. "Hey. Thanks for cleaning me up."

"I didn't do anything. It was mainly mum."

"Ella. . ." I started tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"How did-" I hesitated, not wanting to say it.

Ella nodded, knowing what I was asking. "He died getting everyone out of Itex. When the walls and roof started crumbling, his party was still engaged with the Flyboys. They were the furthest in. They were pinned down and if they didn't get out, all thirty of them would have died."

She took a deep breath. I could see the tears in her eyes.

"Ella," stated Fang waking up. "I'll tell it from here."

She nodded and fled out the room, tears leaking down her face.

"Max, you shouldn't have asked Ella. She took it harder than everyone else," he reprimanded me.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked him.

"As Ella was saying, they were pinned down and so Orphius did the only thing he could do. He told everyone to stay under cover and he went out to face them all. All of the Flyboys, by himself." He shook his head. "From what I can gather from the people there, none of them saw anything, but one thing is for certain, he sacrificed his life for them. One person told me that Orphius had over a dozen bullet wounds in him, yet he kept fighting. He never stopped. He destroyed all of the Flyboys by himself."

"Why?" I asked him. "Why did Orphius-"

"He was the last one Max, he had nothing left in this word. He never truly told me his past, but from what I can gather, that female wolf you brought in was the last one. There weren't any others. He had nothing left, but the others did. They had children, wives, fiancés, family. He had none of that."

He suddenly stood up. "Come with me."

I stood up, but nearly fell over, but managed to stay upright. I was too weak. Fang responded by slipping an arm around my waist to support me. Together we walked out back.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

He simply shook his head and continued.

Slowly as we rounded the last corner, a statue came into view. Surrounding it were other graves, but the statue caught my eye. It was a perfect rendering of Orphius. He stood in that familiar stance of his, proud, majestic, and strangely lonely as well.

I fell to my knees and cried. I cried for a long time, exactly how long I have no idea, but I cried until I had no tears left to shed. I cried until my soul ached. I cried for Orphius, I cried for those who had died, I even cried for Itex and those who followed them out of fear.

When at last my tears ceased, I looked up and it was only then when I saw the water dripping down the statue that I realized it was raining. I reached up longingly, wanting to feel his warm luxurious fur. Yet, no matter how much I wished it differently, it was just the cold unyielding stone that met my touch.

Below, on the base of statue, there were a couple of lines. Blinking the rain from my eyes, I leaned closer for a better looks.

_The price for peace is courage. Orphius gave that and more. He sacrificed his life to defend those under his command. Without him, many would have perished._

_Farewell Orphius. You were a true friend._

"Max." Fang came up behind me. "We've decided to make the day Orphius was born a national holiday."

I glanced up at him. "Why are you still here? The rains acidic. Get out before you die."

"You've been in the rain as well. And you're not dead."

I blinked. It was true. Why hadn't I registered that?

"It's a new invention from the Science Department. They add an alkaline solution into the clouds up above before it rains and it hopefully neutralizes the rain water." He winced. "It took a couple of tries, but they're sure it's fine now and all of the kinks have been worked out."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar face. Turning my head, I saw Ari with Mia next to him hiding behind the rubble. He turned away, a disgusted look on his face while Mia clung to his talking urgently.

"Max?" asked Fang concerned.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"I was thinking. . ." he hesitated.

"What?"

"When are we going to get married?"

That froze me in place. Marriage. I had forgotten all about that. We were engaged now. Itex's had been defeated and we could finally settle down, but. . .

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ari shrug and gather Mia up in his arms. He cast one last glance at me before disappearing behind the rumble. A couple seconds later, I saw his figure up in the air, flying away.

I glanced back at Fang. "I don't know. How about once everything settles down slightly."

He nodded. "Yeah, that might be the best idea. Iggy approached me the other day and said that he and Ella were getting married. He asked if we wanted to get married together."

I opened my mouth to speak, but at that moment, a person ran up from behind yelling, "Fang!! They've finally gotten the English up in Communications. They need you to talk to them now."

"I'll be fine," I told him, "you do what you have to. I think I'll stay here for a while longer."

He nodded. "Don't stay out too long. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

As he walked away, I shot a nervous glance off to the side, tracking Ari with my eyes. I didn't want to lose sight of him now.

Fang shot one last glance over his shoulder at me as he walked around the corner. As soon as he was gone, I walked over to where Ari was before, my mind racing.

Then I froze.

Did I really want to marry him? Did I want to leave Fang behind? Was this the last choice? Why did Orphius have to be gone? I needed to know what to do. Was letting Ari live the right decision? So many questions. All of them Orphius could have answered.

Why did you have to leave me now?

I glanced up at where Ari was hovering watching me. Then I glanced back where Fang was going. And I was torn.

On one hand I had the possibility that Itex might be revived and the world would once again be thrown into danger; that Ari might decide to take over the world and send it into chaos.

On the other hand I had Fang, whom I loved and who loved me back, the one and only person I'll ever want to spend my life with. I would be content to lie in his arms forever.

I wish it was a simple decision, one that I could make with out having to wonder in the upcoming nights if I had made the right one. But it wasn't, I had to choose.

"_Angel?" _I called when I had decided. _"Tell everyone I'm sorry, that I wish there was another way and I'm proud of you all. Tell Iggy to treat Ella with or I'll hunt him down. Tell Gazzy to try not to blow anything up. Tell Nudge that I wish her all the luck in her pursuit. And tell Fang-"_ I took a deep breath and fought back the tears. _"Tell Fang that I'll love him, always. Tell him that I'll be back some day. Tell him. . . Tell him. . . Tell him that I'm sorry."_

"**Max," **she called, but I had already turned away. My mind set.

**A/N Reviews would be nice. But no killing.**


	48. Epilogue

**A/N The final chapter, sorry for the delay. Enjoy. There will be no sequel. Also a very, very, very big shout out to NellBella41 my wonderful Beta who made this chapter a lot better than the original.**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson owns them all.**

**Claimer: Orphius and storyline are mine.**

Epilogue

We landed off in the shadow of the ruins; slowly we crept out into the open. My mind turned back to last time I had spoken to Fang; this was the place that I had made my final decision: to go with Ari and not stay with Fang.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Ari glanced up at me, a strange look in his eyes; I simply smiled at him and pointed at our destination.

It's strange how much of a brotherly-sisterly bond had developed between us. Who would have thought it possible that three years ago, we were fighting each other and Ari had almost killed me.

But it wasn't as if one day we had just clicked and never fought again. No, I suppose I should thank Mia for all that she's done; she had adverted possible fight to the death situations numerous times in the past.

Mia tugged on my sleeve impatiently and I ruffled her hair. She pretended to pout, but Ari came up behind her and pulled her into an embrace.

Walking out into the moonlight, I strolled over towards the centre of the cemetery. As I walked, I smiled at some people placing flowers at the graves of their own beloved. Some smiled back while others glanced at me strangely for they had never seen me before or who had forgotten about me. A couple did recognize me and I thought I saw a bit of a twinkle in their eyes.

I stopped in front of Orphius' grave and knelt down; Ari and Mia stood behind me, heads bowed. Ari held no great love for Orphius, but respected him and Mia did not know who he was except from our stories, yet both paid their respects.

What do people say in situations like these?

I had no idea.

"It's been a while hasn't it my friend?" I half expected the statue to reply. "How long has it been? Three years? Sorry I couldn't some sooner, but I was busy." A single tear leaked down my cheek. "Did I do the right thing Orphius? Have I saved the world? I wish you were still alive. You could tell me the answer."

I punched the ground in frustration. "I still don't understand why you killed yourself. You always said that the good died young because they helped those in need. You said that it was stupid. Yet in the end, that's exactly what you did. You helped those in need and got yourself killed. I'm Sure Fang has his reason and I suppose it makes sense, but still. . ."

I took a deep breath to compose myself and then resumed my little speech.

"So how's the whole Flock been? Fang and the rest of them," I asked. "Hope you've been keeping an eye out for them. Someone needs to make sure they don't blow anything up." I glanced behind me and saw that Ari and Mia were waiting patiently for me. "Well, I suppose this is this then. Goodbye Orphius, my friend; until next time."

I stood up and nodded at them. I was ready to leave. It wasn't part of out original plan to come back here, but Mia had insisted. Strangely, Ari gave in; there was something about that girl.

"Max?" called out a voice from behind me. I saw Mia smirk and I shot her a look that could have killed.

I turned around slowly and saw Angel staring at me in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

Her eyes never left mine, which was good. Although Ari had changed a lot in the past couple of years, he was still recognizable, even in his Eraser form. If Angel saw him. . . lets just say 'all hell breaking loose' would be the understatement of the century.

"Of course it's me. Who else could it be?" I asked her. "Where's Fang. I need to talk to him."

I heard a snicker behind me. I turned around to look at Ari just in time to catch Mia punching him in the arm. He winced, but we all knew it was an act. They often played like that.

Angel's eyes widen a fraction and I hastily stepped in between the two of them. "Angel meet Mia. My brother's girlfriend."

"Max!! You didn't have to say that," he complained blushing scarlet.

Angel wasn't looking at him anymore. She was staring straight at me. A confused expression on her face. "Ari is your. . . brother?"

I nodded. "We can discuss it later, but how about a room for Ari and Mia?"

She glanced over, a frown on her face. "I'm not sure-"

"Look Angel. Ari is my brother. If they can't stay, I'm not staying either. Got that? So get them a room and keep this quite. Then we'll talk." A little harsh I know, but it got the message across.

Her frown deepened a little and then she nodded. "Okay it's been set up. A couple of people are coming over who have no idea who Ari is." She shrugged. "I doubt much people know who he is anyway. He's changed a lot." She added more softly, "So has Fang."

I shrugged. "I'll be talking to Fang soon. I'm sure this is what Mia had planned."

"Mia?" repeated Angel confused.

"Never mind," I told her with a smile.

She shrugged and waited patiently. We sat, watching Mia and Ari playing. We also talked. Angel caught me up on a lot of things. Like how Raymond was the first to get married to an Eraser and dispelled a lot of tension. How Iggy and Ella got married and adopted a child. The most recent news was how Gazzy and Nudge got engaged. Yeah, I know. Amazing isn't it? I wonder how he can put up with all of the talking.

When the people finally arrived and took Mia and Ari off to their rooms, I stood up and stretched. Walking over, I laid one hand on Orphius' statue. I sighed and nodded to Angel.

We made our way through the Ark hesitantly. Many stopped to stare; obviously confused about who we (Ari, Mia and I) were and what our purpose or objective was.

Angel stopped in front of one of the rooms and opened her mouth, "Max-"

Angel squeaked frantically, but I paid no attention to her. Carefully I turned the door knob and gave to door a light tug.

As the room was revealed, the first thing I noticed was how completely and utterly dark and desolate the room was; the only source of light came from a single lamp that lay on the desk. Then I saw Fang. His appearance was saddening. His clothes creased, his hair a mess; he was hunched over a stack of papers, looking at them intently but also with the appearance of having no interest in them whatsoever. It looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Go away." He said gruffly, not even bothering looking up.

I coughed politely hoping to God that my unease wouldn't show. After several moments of awkward silence he spoke again.

"I thought I told you to go awa-" He stopped abruptly as he turned around and his bloodshot eyes locked onto mine. At first there was surprise, but it was quickly replaced with anger.

I took an involuntary step backwards, recoiling from him.

"You," he hissed.

I recovered enough to fold my good arm across my body. I tried to make it look like a confident gesture but inside I was dying. Horrified at what my actions had done to him and what he had become, I kept my arms wrapped tightly around my body in an attempt to hold myself together.

Rage building, he continued. "You used me, Max. You used me." Spitting the words out, he held up his hand to let me see the ring on his finger. "You made a promise. You said you loved me; that I'd be the only one you loved."

His chair crashed to the ground. "How could you? How could you!?! You lied to me, you broke my heart. You. . . you. . ." he spluttered for an insult but as he paused I felt my own anger my own frustration coming back tenfold.

"You think I wanted to leave you!?!" I was getting seriously pissed off. "Is that all you thought I cared about? Your? You are one selfish-"

The next instant I found myself on my back on the ground. My face stinging from where he hit me. Fang towered over me, anger flashing through his whole body. I could see it in the way he stood, the way he breathed. Anger pulsing through him like his own blood.

I stood up slowly, never letting my gaze waver for a second. Strangely, the one thing I noticed was how thin he was. How incredibly thin he was. His cheeks were sunken and I could imagine that I would be able to count his ribs if he removed his shirt. "When was the last time you ate?" I asked him with pure concern.

He blinked in surprise, completely taken aback. Uncertain of what my goal was, he replied, "That's none of your concern," he finally answered.

"Please just tell me Fang."

"Why should I? You left me Max! Why should you care?"

"I left you just like you left me." I planted both hands on my hips. "Remember?"

"What are you talking ab-" He broke off. "Oh."

"Exactly, you left me all those years ago Fang. You. Left. Me."

"That was for the good of the Flock though." He fell silent. "Or. . . I thought it was." He turned his bloodshot eyes back to me. "But what you did was-"

"You know nothing of what I did!! Let alone why!! Stop thinking you know everything about me Fang!!"

"Why don't you tell me then? You got up and left the day before our wedding. You just disappeared into thin air with no explanation!!"

"Fine I'll tell you, you idiot!! I left because Ari was still alive. I had to make sure he wouldn't start a new Itex okay? I left because I let him live and I wanted to make sure that didn't put anyone in any danger." I knocked him to the ground. "I was trying to protect everyone Fang. I didn't want another war, I didn't want any more people to die. I just wanted to help." I chocked back a sob, fighting to control the tears that were threatening to spill onto my face.

I turned around, ready to leave. But before I could, he grabbed me from behind and pinned me against the wall. I reached up to try to ply him off me, yet when I touched his arms, all I could feel was bone. When was the last time he ate?

His whole body shook with controlled anger; I could feel it. The way his arms trembled. At first, I couldn't meet his gaze, but when I looked up, I was surprised to see tears leaking down his face.

"**Max? What's going on in there?" **asked an anxious Angel.

"_Get out. Now!!" _I snarled in response. I felt her consciousness back away.

"Fang?" I whispered.

He simply shook his head and let go. He turned his back to me.

"This is a dream," I heard him mutter. "all a dream; like so many nights before. A dream; nothing more, nothing less."

He sunk to the ground. "Only a dream, only a dream" He fell to the ground, shaking silently. The entire scene was pitiful and heart-wrenching.

I hesitantly walked up behind him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Immediately, he lashed out at me. I stumbled back in surprise; he seemed more animal than anything else.

"_Angel?"_

"**What is it Max?"**

"_Fang's acting a bit. . . weird."_

I could hear her mental sigh. **"I was afraid of this. Max, Fang's been a little. . . out of it since you disappeared. People still think that Fang's in charge, but Iggy and Ella are the real ones running the show."**

I shook my head. "Fang, what's happened to you? You used to be my right hand man. The person I could trust to lead the Flock on if I died."

I knelt down and hugged him from behind. His hands clawed at my skin, drawing blood, but I scarcely felt it. Soon, after a couple of minutes, his thrashing stopped completely.

Tears leaked down my cheek. "What have I done to you Fang? Could this have been avoided if I hadn't gone with Ari?" I took a deep breath. Leaning against Fang, I began to sob with him. His tears became my tears and I cried out in pain. I saw a sliver of moonlight seeping through the window and I was reminded of that night so long ago when Orphius explained his talent. That memory brought back many other painful memories and I found my self asking questions hysterically. " Why must you be dead Orphius? You would surely know the answer. Why did you have to sacrifice yourself?

I continued holding him, crying with him. Each of us comforting each other with our tears and our fears. Sometime later, I must have fallen asleep for the next thing I was aware of was waking up, my entire body sore from my sleeping position.

I gently stroked Fang's hair, not wishing to wake him up. When I looked down, I saw him staring up at me and I was immediately afraid of his reaction; that he might try to kill me or something of the sort. Instead, he calmly gazed at me with unfocused eyes.

"Is that you Max? Are you for real?" He reached up and touched my face. "Is that truly you or another dream? What possessed you to leave me when I needed you? I hated you, but I loved you too."

He shrugged. "I dreamed of you last night. You know that? I dreamed of you as I do every night. Why is it I can never tell you how I truly feel? I dreamed I screamed at you and you screamed back."

"At first I thought it was really you; that you had come back after so many years. But that can't be true can it? I must have fallen asleep at my desk again. Four days with no sleep." He gave a hoarse laugh. "A new record."

He glanced away from me. "I dreamed I hit you Max." He looked away ashamed. "I would never do that. I could never bring myself to do that. Yet. . ."

He sighed sadly. His hand fell away from my face. Fang slipped back into a slumber. I looked down at him. My desperation subsiding, I began to wonder. My thumb traced along the ring that he gave me. After all these years, I still wore it.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed open and for a split second, I thought he had slipped back into his earlier state.

He rotated his head slowly until his eyes made contact with mine. Then they widened. His hands reached out, trembling. "Max? That's really you isn't it? Not a dream."

I smiled down at him like how I used to do when we were still a Flock. Before Angel was first taken by the School. It was meant to reassure him, instead, he broke down.

"I'm sorry Max. I'm sorry." He kept repeated himself.

I hugged him closer and whispered, "It's okay Fang. Everything will be fine." I continued whispering. Eventually, he calmed down enough to look me in the eye again.

He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. His brows frowned in thought then he opened his mouth again, but I cut him off. "Fang. . ." I hesitated. "Where. . . where do _we_ stand now? I mean, if there even is a we," I added hastily.

"I'm not sure Max." He replied.

"If you've moved on. If. . . if. . ."I couldn't continue but all the same, he understood. Fang shook his head.

I let out a deep breath. A knot released in my chest and I found myself breathing easier. I didn't even the knot was there.

There was an uncomfortable silence that descended upon the room; neither of us sure what to say next.

In the end, we were saved by a polite knock on the door.

"Who is it?" we called as one.

"Max, it's me. I was wondering if we could talk." I glanced over at Fang wondering how he would take to having Ari in the same room. He nodded.

Walking over, I unlocked the door.

"Fang," Ari nodded politely.

"Ari," Fang responded just as calmly.

And here I was afraid that they would tear each other to shreds.

"What's the matter?" I asked Ari.

He looked down, hesitant.

"It's okay," I told him. "Fang won't say a word to anyone." Fang nodded in agreement.

"It's Mia," he started off hesitantly. "She wants me to marry her, but. . ."

"But?"

He still hesitated, but in the end Ari turned around and pulled down his collar and showed me a barcode with a date on the back of his neck. "This showed up a couple of days ago." He smiled sadly. "I have about a month to live. Two at most."

I placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair slightly. If it was Angel or Nudge, I would have hugged them. But it was Ari.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Strangely Fang approached and held out his hand. Looking up, Ari had distrust in his eyes, but he accepted.

"I'm sorry," stated Fang as well. "We've got a good science department. Hopefully, it will be able to come up with something."

Despite the kind way it was delivered, I knew he was doing it for my benefit. Whether he thought of Ari, it made no difference. He was trying and that was what mattered.

"Thanks Fang. But I doubt it'll do any good." He sighed. "I'm still in a predicament though."

"Just explain things to her and then pop the question," I suggested.

"Yeah. I suppose so." He exited.

We watched him leave. Closing the door behind him, I turned back to Fang. "So where were we?"

"I believe we left off discussing where we stand."

"And where do we stand?"

"I believe that dating is fine for now," he replied. "Who knows, maybe it'll go back to how it was before hand."

"Hopefully," I corrected.

He nodded. "Hopefully."

He pulled me into his arms.I sighed happily, I could live like this; resting in his arms. I was content with the ways things as they were.

_For now._

**A/N So that's it, the end of a story. I've enjoyed the ride and I hope you have too. And I do like my life, so please don't kill me.**

**Below is an extract from my next story. It should come out next week at the same time as the normal updates. Keep an eye out for it. It's entitled Remembrance.**

_I suppose I should start from the beginning. That's how stories work don't they? You start from the beginning and move through to the middle and finally reach the conclusion where the good guys ultimately win._

_I wish it was that simple in real life. I wish the good guys did always win. You're probably wondering how a blind guy can write, but you people can figure it out for yourself because I don't have a lot of time especially for such useless explanations. _

_The reason I'm writing this is for myself I suppose; for my sanity, being at the School does that to a person. Its More than that though, it's for Ella, she never found out the truth, not the whole truth at least. It's also for the Flock, so they at least know what happened to me._

_Please if you're reading this, whoever you are, find Ella and give her this book. Tell her it's from Iggy and that I love her. That's all I'm asking for._

_**B/N: I have really enjoyed working on this story and I hope that I was a good beta. I know I am going to be working on the next story (which looks fantastic let me tell you) and I really think that this is some excellent work. Its been a pleasure!**_

_**- nellabella41**_


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